


Whistle Stop

by Exdraghunt



Series: Steel bodies, Human Hearts [6]
Category: TUGS (TV), Thomas the Tank Engine - All Media Types
Genre: Mpreg, Multi, general weirdness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-30
Updated: 2017-09-30
Packaged: 2018-05-17 04:36:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 34
Words: 106,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5854513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Exdraghunt/pseuds/Exdraghunt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Things are changing on the Island of Sodor. New construction, new relationships, and new friends to be made. A little indiscretion leads to unexpected consequences, and new revelations may change how everyone sees the engines.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hold on to your hats, everybody. This one is gonna get weird.

Things were going well for the Northwestern Railway. It was actually a little surprising. While mainland railways were reducing service and abandoning lines, the Northwestern was expanding both its service and reach across the Island. Sodor had become a burgeoning summer vacation spot, with its charming villages and old-world feel. Being so isolated from the mainland meant that little changed on the island over the years, and now people were flocking to Sudrian population centers to experience the “quaint” and “antique” towns. Ironically, the steam railway that had once been criticized for being out of date was now a major draw for being the only commercial steam railway still operating. 

There was also a real estate boom, people leaving the hustle and bustle of the mainland for the slower island life. But nothing could change the fact that the roads on Sodor were winding, narrow, and meant mostly for travel between villages. Automobiles also hadn’t been imported to the island since the second world war, creating a used car market consisting of cars more than forty years old. Sudrian people depended on trains for their daily transport. 

New lines were being laid to reach outlying towns, and existing lines were being upgraded to handle faster, more frequent service. The engines who already worked on the railway watched the activity with interest. 

Construction was both a boon and an annoyance to the rolling stock. New lines and smoother rails were always a reason for excitement, but delays in service due to construction weren’t quite so nice. 

Even Knapford wasn’t safe. Thomas was sitting at the station; waiting for his next train and watching workers hang some kind of thick wires high over a closed track. “What are those for?”

“Who knows,” James looked at the wires suspiciously. “Must be some new train or something.”

“It’s a catenary.” Skookum offered as they rolled into the station and came to a stop to offload passengers. The big engine had a frown on their face as they studied the new additions. “For electric trains. They must be bringing some kind of electric service; I’ve seen construction as far as Maron.”

“They’re electrifying mainline passenger service?” Thomas didn’t like the sound of that at all. “But, what about you, and Gordon, and the other big engines?”

“We’ll be fine, Thomas.” Skookum smiled, maybe a bit unconvincingly, as they chuffed away to get turned around. 

Later that day, Thomas related this information to Edward at Wellsworth station. Construction was happening here too, poles going up alongside the tracks to support the new catenary wires. 

“I’m sure the Fat Controller isn’t replacing the mainline engines.” Edward soothed. “Not after he did so much work putting in the new express service last year. Besides, the wires only go as far as the Search and Rescue center; then they stop.”

“The Search and Rescue center?” That was certainly not what Thomas had expected. “Why would they electrify the mainline between Knapford and the Search and Rescue center?”

“I don’t know, Thomas,” Edward pulled away from the station with his train, headed south for Brendam. “But I think it has something to do with the Misty Island tunnel, I’ve been hauling construction supplies there all week.”

The Misty Island tunnel? It had been boarded up and declared unsafe for travel. The Fat Controller had said it was too long for steamies or diesels to use, because the smoke and exhaust from engines could build up and make the human crews sick. So why would it be opened again if engines weren’t allowed to use it? 

The same question was bothering Edward as the blue engine picked up a goods train in Brendam later that day. More equipment headed for the construction at the Search and Rescue center. There were huge spools of cable, digging equipment, and more things that Edward couldn’t identify. 

Chuffing onto the coastal track to the Search and Rescue center, Edward saw something else surprising. There, buzzing along, was Stafford the electric shunting engine. Stafford almost never left the Knapford shunting yards, since he wasn’t powerful enough to pull trains and didn’t have the battery life to get too far from his recharging station. 

“Stafford?” Edward caught up to the smaller engine easily, both coming to a stop just beyond the Search and Rescue center where the dark Misty Island Tunnel stood. “What are you doing here?”

“I’ve come to help with the tunnel work,” Stafford said proudly. “Steamers and diesels can’t go in because of their exhaust, but I’m electric. I don’t make exhaust. So they’ve asked me to carry supplies and workers through the tunnel.”

Of course, an electric engine would have no trouble with the length of the tunnel. Suddenly it all made sense, the catenary lines were going to Misty Island Tunnel for some kind of electric train service through to the island. 

Later that night, Edward shared his revelation with the other engines at Tidmouth Sheds. Everyone agreed it made sense, except for one thing. 

“Why would anyone want to go to Misty Island?” James asked. “There isn’t anything there except that old logging station.”

“And they shut that down a few years ago,” Thomas added. “Now there isn’t anybody on the island.”

“Well something must be happening,” Gordon grumbled. “Why else would they be clogging up the mainline with all that damned construction?”

None of them knew, but Edward promised to keep everyone updated. 

 

Not, as it turned out, there was much to update the others on. Large amounts of construction supplies were being transported to Brendam docks, everything from huge slabs of slate to piles of 2 by 4s. There, they were loaded onto ships and presumably sent off to Misty Island. 

At least, that was the intention. There didn’t seem to be enough ship traffic for all the supplies, and quite a bit of it ended up stacked up at the docks waiting for a ship to load onto. 

“Why is this all just sitting here?” Edward delivered yet another goods train to the docks and watched as it was stacked up with all of the supplies from the previous day. 

“No ships free to take it.” Porter explained, taking away the empty trucks and bringing over full ones to be taken back to Wellsworth. “Most of what calls here is fishing boats, or freighters on scheduled runs. Be a lot easier if it could all go by barge.”

“Can’t it?” Edward didn’t know quite as much about shipping as the dockside engines did. 

“Sodor doesn’t have any tugboats.” Porter hummed thoughtfully, with the air of someone about to impart a bit of gossip. “Although, I hear tell from the harbormaster that they might be getting some.”

“That would be good. Tugboats mean more shipping, right?” And more shipping could only be good for the railway. 

“Yep. But they’ve gotta be at least thirty years old or steam powered. Some kind of new rule to keep the harbor ‘classic.’” It was an odd edict, but considering how the Northwestern Railway was run it made sense. An island served by a roster of classic steam engines should have a harbor to match. The entire fishing fleet dated to the turn of the century as well, and tramp steamers still called at the island despite having been retired everywhere else in the world. 

“Interesting,” Edward mused, moving over to a siding. He had a short break before his next train. “I guess we’re old enough to be considered “cool” again. Or something.”

“Perish the thought,” Porter laughed briefly before trailing off, growing more serious. “Hey Edward, you’re on break, right? Could I talk to you about something?”

“Sure, Porter. What is it?” Edward followed the younger engine by moving over to his human form and having a seat on the edge of the seawall. The engines had quickly discovered it was easier to talk privately like this; there was less of a chance of being overheard by half the island. 

Porter had always been a fairly confident, self-assured engine. He knew what he was, he knew what he had to do, and he did it without complaint. Very little got to him, but this was something he’d never dealt with before. “Edward, how did you tell James you liked him?”

Edward blinked in surprise, not having expected talk of romance from the dock tank engine. “I didn’t. James told me. It was late at night, neither of us could sleep. James told me about his home railway, then admitted that he had liked me for a long time. I said I liked him back. And, well. . .” The blue engine’s cheeks turned pink at the memory. 

“Ah, alright.” Porter sighed. That hadn’t been the answer he was hoping for. 

“Why do you ask?” There was usually only one reason for an engine to inquire about another’s relationship. “Is there someone you’re thinking about?”

Edward always was an insightful one. But, then, that’s why Porter had asked him. “Well. It’s Timothy.” Porter admitted. “Ever since he spent a few days working here at the docks, I can’t stop thinking about him. I just don’t know how to tell him.”

“I don’t think you have too much to worry about.” Edward placed a hand on Porter’s shoulder. Though he didn’t know too much about the little oil-burning tank engine, Edward did know that he was very even-tempered and agreeable. If a bit gullible. “Timothy is a very sweet engine.”

“Don’t I know it. He’s also a hard worker, strong, organized.” Porter had a little smile on his face now, “And he’s very cute.”

“See?” Edward chuckled at how very clearly smitten Porter was. “All of that you just told me? Tell Timothy. I don’t see how he could say no.”

“Really?” Porter climbed to his feet, then held out a hand to help Edward up. “Thanks Edward. I mean it.”

“I’m always happy to help, Porter. You know that.” 

“I know.” Porter went back to his real body, moving to fetch a train from BoCo that had just arrived at the docks. “You know, you give much better relationship advice than Salty does!”

That made Edward burst out laughing even as he went back to his own body. His crew, who were enjoying a coffee break on a crate sitting on the dockside, looking up upon hearing the laughter of their engine. 

“And what was that all about?” Charlie, his driver, asked with amusement. 

“Sorry, private conversation.” Edward said with mock solemn-ness. “But, apparently, I am better at relationship advice than Salty.”

Both driver and fireman snorted at the thought of the dockside diesel giving relationship advice. Stories about sea monsters, yes. Love advice? Not so much. 

“So, does that mean we should start calling you ‘Edward the Love Engine’?” Sidney, the fireman, asked as he finished up his coffee.

“Oh dear, no.” James would never let him hear the end of that.

Still laughing, the two men climbed up into the blue engine’s cab and set back to work. 

 

Later that day, when there was a lull in work at the docks and things were relatively quiet, Porter headed west towards the China Clay Pits. Better to get things over with quickly, the more time he had to dwell on things the more nervous he would get. 

Upon reaching the clay pits, Porter realized that this little venture was going to be a bit more complicated than he anticipated because Timothy was nowhere in sight. He could wait by the fueling station, he supposed. Timothy would have to fuel up sometime. Or. . . 

“Porter? What’re you doing here?” From seemingly out of nowhere, one of the twins appeared. Just what he needed. “We haven’t messed anything up this time, I swear.”

“It’s alright uh . . . Ben,” Porter discreetly glanced at the tank engine’s nameplate. “I’m actually here to talk to Timothy. You wouldn’t happen to know where he is?”

“OI TIMOTHY,” Ben hollered in a voice that echoed around the clay pits, giving his whistle a shrill tweet. 

There was a very weary sigh as Timothy chuffed out of one of the many tunnels nearby. “What is it, Ben? Don’t tell me you’ve trapped yourself on a siding again?”

“I told you that was Bill, not me!” Ben replied indignantly. “And it ‘snot about me, somebody’s here to see you.”

“Me?” Timothy finally noticed Porter, his confused expression melting into a pleased smile. “Oh, hello Porter. What brings you up here?”

“Actually, I was hoping to talk to you about something.” Porter glanced at Ben, who was listening with interest. No doubt the other twin was lurking somewhere nearby. “In private?”

“Oh, fine. I can see where I’m not wanted.” Ben rolled his eyes and chuffed away, presumably to join Bill in some kind of mischief making.

Timothy chuckled and led Porter over to the building that housed the break room for the human crews. “Don’t mind the twins. But they’re pretty much certain to be listening, unless we go inside one of the human buildings.”

Which provided the added bonus of being somewhere their crews wouldn’t overhear. Porter followed Timothy into the building, leaving their drivers and firemen to look after their real bodies outside, and ended up around the empty tables in the mess room. 

“So, uh. What is it you wanted to talk to me about?” Timothy sat on the edge of one of the tables, “Not that I mind you coming by to visit, of course.”

“Well. . .” Porter was glad he didn’t breathe in this form, or his level of nervousness definitely would’ve been more obvious. Just remember what Edward had said earlier. “You remember that week you spent working at the docks with me?”

“Of course!” Timothy brightened noticeably at the reminder. “That was so much fun, and it was nice to get out of the clay pits for awhile. Get to see the ocean. And you and Cranky are much better company than Bill and Ben.”

That really wasn’t saying much, but Porter still felt buoyed by the statement. See? He thought to his inner doubter, Timothy likes spending time with me after all. “I enjoyed having you at the docks, too. You’re a very hard worker, and keep everything organized. And.. .” Porter frowned and shook his head. He was getting off track, “What I’m saying is, I really like you Timothy. Really like you. And I want to spend more time with you.”

When there was no response for several long moments, Porter lifted his eyes to see Timothy looking at him with an expression of absolute shock. The oil-burning engine seemed to be trying to say something, but couldn’t manage to actually get a word out. Porter internally cringed. Was it something he said? 

“Is. . .” Timothy attempted to compose himself. “This, this isn’t a trick? Is it?”

A trick? Porter’s initial reaction was to be angry. Did Timothy really think he was the type of engine to play such a prank? “No, of course not!” Porter reminded himself that the other engine lived every day with Bill and Ben, the two most notorious tricksters on the island. He probably had very good reason to be wary of everything. “I mean, I’m being totally honest here. And even if you don’t feel the same way about me, I just wanted to let you know.”

“No, it’s alright.” Timothy calmed down a bit now that he was reassured this wasn’t an elaborate prank. “I’m sorry, I thought maybe Bill and Ben- nevermind. I just. . . are you sure?”

Porter gave a reassuring smile, relaxing as he realized that Timothy was as nervous as he was about this. The smaller engine just had a different way of showing it. “Of course I’m sure. Timothy, since you came back here I’ve missed having you at the docks terribly. I know you can’t just leave the Clay Pits, but would it be okay if I came to see you sometimes?”

“Of course!” Timothy seemed surprised at his own excitement, bringing a hand up to cover his mouth. “I mean. Sorry, I’ve never dealt with anything like this. I like being with you, too. And, maybe, I could go down to the docks sometime to see you?”

“I’d like that.” Porter leaned in, hoping he wasn’t being too forward as he brought up a hand to cup Timothy’s cheek. “And, maybe sometimes I could-“ He brought his mouth closer to Timothy’s, about to fulfill the fantasy he’d had every night for the last few weeks, when he felt something strange. Like a warm wind passing through his body. 

Both engines drew back with a gasp, suddenly feeling the need to draw in breaths of fresh air. That was the first sign of something strange; their false human forms normally had no need to breathe. 

“What-“ Timothy placed a hand on his chest, feeling a sudden thumping heartbeat. “Did we just-?”

“Oh no.” Porter exhaled heavily, shoulders slumping. “I think we just turned human again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be clear: The first few chapters of this occur before and during the events of "Marching Inland." (hence the reference to Sodor not having any tugboats.)
> 
> Also, yes. I'm bringing Misty Island into this. Rest assured, we won't see the logging locos or any of the more ridiculous bits from the Miller era.


	2. Chapter 2

Sir Topham Hatt sighed as he returned his office telephone to its receiver. Calls had been coming in non-stop for the last half hour, all reporting the same thing. The engines of the island had turned human. Again. It had been about two years since the last time this had happened, and Sir Topham really hoped that this wouldn’t become a regular thing. 

This time, the change had happened during the work day. Fortunately, no one had been injured or ended up in a compromising situation, but everyone was disoriented and thrown off their routine. Sir Topham gave instructions for everyone to finish their trains for the day; then go back to their usual sheds for a meeting. 

Things at Tidmouth sheds were . . . relatively subdued by the time Sir Topham arrived. Compared to normal, at least. Thomas and Percy were running around excitedly, but everyone else was gathered fairly calmly in the small break room attached to the back of the shed. It was a bit crowded, but a light rain had started outside and this was the most convenient place to congregate. 

“Alright everyone.” Sir Topham stood by the brightly burning wood stove. It was very strange to be addressing the engines in this way, stuffed into a small coat room, but these were odd times. “We don’t know how long this will last, but we can hope it will be only a few days. Like last time, you will be going home with your drivers for the night. I am going to allow you to amuse yourselves in Tidmouth tomorrow while I line up some activities. Please, try not to cause any chaos.”

“No promises.” James muttered, causing the others to try and hide their laughter. 

“Oh dear.” The Fat Controller rubbed his forehead with his hand and decided to let the drivers hash out the room assignments. Hopefully, this whole situation would go smoothly and everything would go back to normal soon. 

 

Last time, it had been relatively simple. Each engine went home with their driver, easy peasy. Now, fairly understandably, the couples wanted to stay together. Never before had they had a chance to sleep together, since normally the engines could only sleep in their real bodies. 

“Okay, so I’ve got a spare bedroom. James, you can come home with me. Unless Rick-?” Charlie looked over at James’ driver. 

The other man held up his hands, “Unless they both want to try and share my daughter’s bed, they’re probably better off with you.”

“Well, Gordon doesn’t even fit on my couch. Much less him and Henry.” This from Sam, Gordon’s driver. “Ted?”

“I got a sleeper sofa. I think they’d both fit.” Ted looked at the two former engines thoughtfully. “Gonna need to stop and get some clothes, tho.”

“Well, if that’s all settled.” Charlie stood and got his coat. “I’m sure my wife will be overjoyed to have guests. James?”

The red engine cautiously followed after the man who was not his driver, hand wrapped around Edward’s tightly. Meanwhile, Gordon retained his usual sour expression as he and Henry followed after the green engine’s driver. Across the island, the same scene played out similarly as all of the now-human engines found places to bed down for the night. 

 

Sleeping as a human was weird. There had been such a barrage of new things the last time this had happened, Edward hadn’t had too much time to dwell on this one specific thing. Now, though, it was at the forefront of his mind as he carefully removed his clothing to change into the pajamas he had been given to use for the evening. 

After managing to step out of his trousers without falling over, Edward looked up to see James staring at him. The red engine had gotten his shirt off, but seemed to have paused in the act of unbuttoning his trousers to watch his partner.

“Yes?” Edward decided to play it safe and sat down on the edge of bed to pull on his pajama bottoms. No reason to fall over attempting to manage these ridiculous human items of clothing.

“Just. Observing how you look.” James managed to finish what he was doing and peeled off his jeans. 

“And?” Edward prompted with amusement. It was, admittedly, interesting to see his partner this way. The engines rarely saw unclothed people, and despite not being attracted to humans Edward found himself able to appreciate the view. 

“Well, I know I make a pretty good-looking person.” James commented immodestly, pulling on his own pajamas. “But you aren’t bad yourself.”

Edward rolled his eyes good-naturedly, leaning over to give his partner a kiss. “I’m glad to know you love me for my frame.”

“Your frame is lovely. Not as nice as mine, admittedly.” James smirked, forgoing the sleep shirt he had been given and lying back on the bed. “But, I’ve always liked the 4-4-0 look. Very classic.”

“’Classic.’” Edward repeated, trying to decide on whether to be flattered or offended. He pulled back the blankets, forced to tug at them a bit to get them out from under James’ butt, and climbed in under them. “Did you just call me old?”

“Yes.” James was unrepentant as he wiggled in next to his partner. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

 

Several hours later, Edward was abruptly awoken when something slapped his face. The slap was quickly followed by a hard hit to the gut, knocking the wind out of the blue engine and making him curl up sharply. “What the-?” 

He fumbled for the bedside lamp, turning it on in time to see James; eyes still closed and appearing to be perfectly asleep, twitch his limbs violently. Edward deflected another hit aimed towards him, but the impact shoved him off the edge of the bed and onto the floor. Taking all the covers with him. 

This didn’t seem to bother James a bit, as he just shivered a bit and rolled over. Edward tiredly reached up for a pillow and curled up in all the blankets on the floor instead. These human bodies were so strange. 

 

Across town, Gordon and Henry had managed to get to sleep on the pull-out sofa that had been provided by Henry’s driver. It wasn’t the most comfortable bed in the world, but it was infinitely superior to what Gordon had slept on the last time he had turned human and the blue engine was soon out like a light. 

Henry had a little more difficulty finding a good position, but had also finally drifted off and was in the middle of a pleasant dream when he suddenly felt as though an enormous weight was pressing down on his chest. The green engine was instantly awake and panicked, afraid he was having an asthma attack as he had before, only to hear a loud snore directly in his ear. 

“Gordon!” Henry groaned, trying to push the larger man off of him. “I can’t breathe. Gordon!”

Slowly, like an enormous glacier, the big engine rolled off his partner and ended up on his back at the other edge of the sleeper sofa. Henry took a few experimental breaths, making sure he wasn’t damaged from the encounter, before shifting over to the opposite side of the sofa. Gordon was going to hear about this in the morning. 

 

Not all of the engines were staying with their crews. Some people simply didn’t have the space for a guest, or have such a close relationship with their engines as the Tidmouth drivers. For this reason, they had been provided with other lodging. 

Moored at Brendam docks was the ocean liner the SS Roxstar. Once a famous German liner named Vienna, she had been owned by the British since the second world war and after a long career crossing the seas she had ended up in the care of the Sodor Maritime Museum. Now, the Roxstar was one of the finest hotels on Sodor, with fully restored art deco-style guest rooms and the same lavish ballrooms and services that had once been enjoyed by movie stars and politicians. 

During the summer, the height of the Sudrian tourist season, every room on the Roxstar would be booked up. At the moment, though, it was only early spring and a decent portion of the ship was empty. Empty enough for there to be several third-class rooms available to give the engines who worked on the southern end of the railway a place to sleep. 

Porter smiled as he settled into the small room he had been given. It was small, with a narrow bunk, a wooden chest of drawers, and a little porcelain sink. Not exactly a palace, but it was still luxurious for the dock tank engine who worked hard with freight trucks all day. Just down the hall, he knew that Salty had managed to get his driver to pick up Mavis from the quarry and the two were now sharing a room. The cabin next door, meanwhile, had gone to Timothy. The oil-burning engine had been very eager to get lodging away from Bill and Ben, who had bunked down on cots in the break room at the clay pits under the watchful eye of Marion. Porter was a little disappointed, though, that Timothy had asked for a separate room. 

“Well, I did only tell him today.” Porter mused to himself as he changed into the sleeping clothes that he had been given. He couldn’t blame Timothy for wanting to take things a little slow, and Porter was quite capable of being patient. 

A soft knock on the door distracted Porter from his thoughts, and he had barely gotten out the words “Come in” when the door opened and a stocky, dark haired figure slipped in side. 

“Timothy?” Porter smiled brightly. Now wasn’t this a happy surprise. 

“Hope it’s alright if I visit.” Timothy shut the door tightly behind him and slid the bolt of the lock. “I did hear that there’s supposed to be enough room on the bunks for two. If you want, I mean.”

“Of course.” Porter patted the bed invitingly, taking the initiative to place a hand on Timothy’s shoulder when the other man sat beside him. “Though, I thought you had gotten your own room?”

“Well . . .” Timothy hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck. “I thought. Maybe, we could keep this between us? Being in a relationship, I mean.”

“Between us?” Porter’s smile fell. Why would he want to keep it a secret? It was well known that engines on the Northwestern Railway were allowed to get together, nobody even really objected to it anymore. Or maybe it was just him? Porter knew he wasn’t a particularly physically attractive engine, but he had hoped that Timothy wouldn’t mind. “Why?”

“If Bill and Ben knew, they’d never let me live it down.” Timothy wrung his hands, sitting back against the bulkhead the berth was mounted to. “I’m sorry, it’s just-“

“No, it’s okay. I understand.” Porter pulled the smaller man closer, “Must be hard living with those two day in and day out.”

“They aren’t that bad.” Timothy relaxed, leaning in to the offered comfort. “I mean, yes, they can be annoying. And they play pranks on me. But, in the end, they are loyal and usually manage to get the work done. Just, for now, I’d rather they didn’t know. And if other engines know-“

“What others know, Bill and Ben usually manage to find out.” Porter nodded. “That’s fine. Although, Edward knows. I don’t think he’d tell anyone else.”

“Edward?” The blue engine was quite trustworthy and not prone to gossip, but Timothy was quite curious as to how he’d found out. 

“I. May have asked him for advice on how to talk to you.” Porter blushed a bit, pink decorating his cheeks. 

Timothy leaned over and gave his partner a quick kiss, only making him blush harder, before lying down on the small berth. It had been a long day, and he was exhausted. 

As Timothy curled into a ball, taking up as little space on the bed as possible, Porter settled comfortably around him and the two were quickly asleep. 

 

The sun was barely over the horizon when the alarm went off in the bedroom of engine driver Charlie Sand. It hardly had a chance to beep before a hand reached out to shut it off. Charlie had been doing this for so long, he almost didn’t need the alarm anymore. 

Dressing quickly and quietly, Charlie knocked on the door to the guest room before swinging it open. As he looked inside, he had to stifle his laughter at the sight. James was spread across the bed, managing to take up every available inch of space with his long, lanky limbs. Edward, meanwhile, was curled up in all of the blankets on the floor. Clearly, co-habitating in bed was something they still needed to work on. 

Charlie managed to coax the two awake and into clothing, before dropping them off bleary-eyed at the Tidmouth town center. Gordon and Henry were already there waiting, as well as, to their surprise, Emily. 

“How was your night?” Edward asked as he and James took seats on the edge of the fountain that stood in the town square. It was still so early that there weren’t many people out and about yet, and most businesses were still closed. 

Henry shot Gordon a look, and the big engine had the good grace to look a bit sheepish. 

“I may have rolled on top of Henry.” Gordon muttered. Though he acted like it didn’t bother him now, he had in fact been quite worried that he might have inadvertently injured his partner in his sleep. 

“That’s alright, James shoved me off the bed.” Edward nudged James, who just shrugged with no sign of the concern he’d shown that morning. 

“Well I slept fine,” Emily put in. “Driver got a new guest bed, very comfortable.” There was no response from the others to that. 

“So. . .” James drawled after a long moment of silence. “Got any plans today?”

“There’s this botanical garden in Knapford that looks really interesting.” Henry pulled out a small tourist’s map of the island. “I thought we’d catch the 10am local out of Tidmouth and spend the day in Knapford. Gordon?”

“Whatever you want to do.” Gordon folded his arms, fully intending to just follow his partner around wherever he wanted to go that day. “You guys?”

“Well.” Edward hadn’t really put much thought into how to spend the day. “I guess we’ll just wander around Tidmouth. I’m sure there’s something to do.”

“Could I spend the day with you two, then?” Emily asked, looking over to James and Edward. She had no plans for the day at all, and a botanical garden didn’t sound particularly exciting. 

James grimaced. He had always found Emily slightly annoying and didn’t really want to share his precious Edward time with her. But, his partner was such a kind-hearted, loving person that Edward just said “sure Emily” and dashed all of James’ hopes. 

The group managed to locate a diner that was open and serving breakfast, then split up to go their separate ways. 

Tidmouth was a fairly sizable town, with lots of sprawling, rambling streets and winding alleys. Edward had been quick to pick up a tourist map of the town so that they’d be able to get back to the sheds at the end of the day, and now they were just wandering to see what there was to see. 

“There’s a museum,” Edward pointed to a place on the map, then looked up to see James pull a face. “Or not. What about a theatre?”

“I’ve always wanted to see a movie!” Emily said excitedly, looking over Edward’s shoulder at the map. “That sounds like fun!”

“Movie it is.” 

Tidmouth was large enough to have several movie theatres, but the nearest was a small one-screen affair that had been built in the twenties. It was nearly empty, having only just opened a few minutes before, but a glance at the movie poster proved that they had made a good choice. 

“It’s about a train.” Emily exclaimed, looking at the movie poster mounted outside the box office. 

“Why is it crashing through a wall?” James raised an eyebrow, looking suspiciously at the three laughing humans that took up the foreground of the poster as though they were responsible for the engine emerging from a wall behind them. 

“We’ll have to watch to find out, won’t we?” Edward paid the bored-looking teen manning the box office and led the way inside. 

“Whoa!” Emily’s eyes widened as they walked down into the theatre. The rows of seats were empty, canned jazz music playing over hidden speakers in the ceiling. Heavy red drapes were drawn over the screen, concealing it from view, making the faux-proscenium look like an opulent live stage. “This place is so cool. We should sit in the front!”

She eagerly planted herself in the front row, dead center, knees bouncing with her excitement. James rolled his eyes and sat down in the front row as well, leaving a couple seats between him and Emily, but Edward just smiled indulgently as he took the seat next to his partner. 

“Did we really have to bring her?” James whispered.

“Shush.” Edward gave his partner a light smack to the shoulder, “We couldn’t just leave her alone to wander around a human town.”

A couple more people trickled into the theatre, all sitting a respectful distance from each other, before finally the lights dimmed and the curtains opened to dramatic music. 

The previews weren’t particularly interesting to the engines, who probably wouldn’t ever be able to see the movies they depicted, but once the movie itself started they were much more engaged. True, the train was being pulled by an American diesel engine, but it was still fun to watch. The human characters less so, but at least they were wandering around a backdrop of the first class carriages of a cross-country train. 

An hour and a half plight of a man who just can’t seem to stay on the damn train was good entertainment, as was all the nice scenery and railroad scenes, when the real drama started. The train was a runaway, there was no driver and a tool box was on the dead-man’s brake so that the brakes couldn’t be activated! The engines were on the edges of their seats, grateful when the human characters managed to uncouple the rear coaches but still concerned as the huge American diesel crashed through the walls of the station, wreaking absolute destruction as it went. 

The movie ended like most films of the kind did, with the human characters walking away laughing leaving utter devastation behind them. 

“That poor engine.” Emily said sadly as they left the theatre, blinking in the grey daylight outside.

“I’m sure it was fine.” Edward patted her shoulder. “It’s controller probably rebuilt it and put it back into service afterwards. Gordon’s still here, and he once crashed through a station wall.”

James snickered at the reminder. “That was hilarious. Serves him right for complaining about not having a view.”

Deciding that watching a movie was indeed a good way to spend the day, the trio briefly stopped for lunch before hiking across town to find another theatre showing a different movie. And then another, and another, until it was dark and time to make their way back to the sheds to meet their drivers. 

 

“Have fun today?” Rick, James’ driver, met them at the sheds as they crunched through the gravel ballast.

“Oh yes!” Emily said excitedly. “We watched films in theatres all day long. All kinds of different movies.” She frowned a bit, suddenly contemplative. “Though, there was one thing they all had in common. There was always a part where the human characters took off their clothes and were on top of each other on a bed. Is that something people do often?”

Rick suddenly regretted coming out to greet them. “Uh. . .”

“I think it’s called sex.” Edward offered, only knowing of the act through decades of listening to the chatter of human crews. “It’s something people do when they really like eachother.”

James looked at his partner, face pulling up into a grin. “Well, we’re people, right? Maybe we should try it.”

“Oh god.” Rick ran back to the sheds to fetch someone better equipped to deal with this situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> . . . you all can probably tell where this is headed. 
> 
> If you're curious what movie they saw, it's Silver Streak. (the poster http://images.moviepostershop.com/silver-streak-movie-poster-1976-1020269363.jpg ). It came out in theatres in 1976. The other movies they went and saw? Well, let's just say that a big thing in the UK in the 70's was the "Awful British Sex Comedy."
> 
> Why, no idea. But, I needed a way to get the engines thinking about sex.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to apologize in advance for writing the least sexy sex scene ever.

In the back room of Tidmouth shed, several of the engine crews were gathered having a meeting while the engines were outside presumably chatting excitedly about their days. 

“They asked me what sex was.” Rick said with distress. “How am I supposed to tell them about that? And now they want to try it! I heard James telling Henry and Gordon about it too.”

“And, I’m out.” Sidney Hever was only a fireman and therefor not equipped to deal with this shit. “Have fun guys. My kids are only seven, I’m not giving that talk for another few years yet.”

“Sidney!” Charlie sighed. “Look, it’s not that complicated. We just sit them down, explain to them what it is and why it’s something only people do, and that’s that. I’m sure this is only a passing interest.”

The others all nodded, but one driver held up his hand in question.

“What if it isn’t?” Sam was Gordon’s driver, and being a gay man he was more relaxed about sex than most. “I don’t see any reason to prevent them from trying it if they’re interested. They’re all adults, right? Hell, most of the engines are older than we are. We just need to make sure they know enough not to hurt themselves.”

“If you want to sit them down for Sex Ed, go for it.” Emily’s driver Dennis stood and grabbed his stuff. “I had to explain to Emily what hormones were the last time this happened; I’ll leave this one to you.”

As the break room emptied out, Sam looked around for support and met eyes with Charlie. “Feel like lending a hand?” 

“Well, since no one else wants to.” Charlie shrugged. “I warn you, though, I don’t know very much about. Uh. Man on man.”

Sam laughed. “Never fear, I happen to be somewhat of an expert on the subject.”

 

Deciding that if they were going to go and do this they might as well get it all done at once, Charlie got on the phone and made a few calls to see if the other engines on the island who had partners could make their way over to Tidmouth. Sam, meanwhile, ran home to get a few visual aids he had laying about and pick up some supplies. It was lucky that Sam had spent years helping out other gay people with their sexual troubles, because he had given this talk many times before. 

Returning to Tidmouth, Sam found a few more people in the break room than had been there when he left. Edward and James, along with Gordon and Henry, were expected. Emily was there too, apparently out of sheer curiosity. Millie had shown up with Caitlin in tow, interested in finding out more about human physical affection. And, unexpectedly, Belle showed up for the lesson as well. 

“Sorry Flynn couldn’t make it.” Belle edged her way into the room and sat down on the floor. “He thought at least one of us should be on hand at the Search and Rescue Center. Even like this. But I thought I would come and see what the fuss was about.”

Finally, since no one had been able to locate Salty and Mavis, Porter had shown up in their place. He promised solemnly to relay all information learned to the other dockside engine and his partner. 

“So, you’re just here because Salty can’t be?” Edward whispered to Porter as the tank engine sat next to him. 

“That’s right.” Porter winked at the older engine. “I’m sure he and Mavis are just out for a beachside walk. I’d better make sure they don’t miss anything.”

“Alright everybody.” Sam clapped his hands and stood up in front of the group. This was more than he usually taught at once, but at least this promised to be entertaining. Normally, this talk went to young men who were just figuring out their sexuality. Not steam engines who probably didn’t even know what “genitals” were. “Let’s get started. I’m Sam, and this is Charlie.”

Charlie, who was standing with large posterboards in hand, waved. He had been appointed “official visual aide holder.”

“Now, we’re gonna start with the basics. All of you should have one of these.” Sam gestured at the first poster, which had detailed drawings of a penis and a vagina. The driver rolled his eyes when he saw several of his class look down and fiddle with their trousers. “No, no, no. Don’t check right now, do that on your own time. Just trust me on this one, alright?”

Charlie shook his head and changed posters. He was so glad Sam had offered to do all the talking. 

The lesson moved on from the basics to more complicated concepts like penetrative sex, just how to use the butt, and oral. The nice thing about an audience that wasn’t human was the engines didn’t have the immaturity that made young men giggle uncontrollably at words like “balls.” The downside is that they all seemed to experience varying levels of horror at the knowledge of just what humans used their body parts –for.-

“So, foreplay.” Sam pointed at the illustrations on one of the posters. “Very important. If you got a dick, you can’t just stick it in right off the bat. Remember, your mouth and hands can be just as good tools. These are your body’s erogenous zones, circled here. Give all of them a try, see what you like best. No, not right now. And, the most important thing. I’m sure you all can understand the importance of plenty of lubricant.”

The engines all nodded seriously. Proper lubrication was indeed very important, forgoing a good oiling routine would lead to stripped bearings and parts breakdowns. 

“As a parting gift, I’ve got some quality lubricant here for all of you.” Sam passed out small bottles of personal lube he had picked up at the store. God, he couldn’t wait to see the look on the Fat Controller’s face when he got the reimbursement slip for this little purchase. “Put it to good use.”

As the group stood and trickled out of the room, Charlie assisted Sam in cleaning up the various visual aids and tools he had brought for the talk. 

“So, learn anything?” Sam looked at the older driver with a smirk as he reordered the poster-boards. He’d never had a married straight man sit in on one of these talks. 

“A bit.” Charlie responded with his own smile. “I may have picked up on a few things to spice up my own bedroom. Though, I might have to change around a little. When I do it, there’s usually only one dick involved.”

Sam snorted with laughter. “Glad to be of service. Maybe Gordon should be worried about getting a new driver, I might have found a new career direction.”

“Perish the thought.” Charlie knew full well the other man was only joking. There was something about being a Sudrian engine driver that made it a life-long career. “Do you think maybe you should’ve handed out condoms, too? Instead of just lube?”

“Why?” Sam picked up a few extra bottles and put them back in the shopping bag, along with a neatly folded receipt to include with his reimbursement request. “They’ve never had sex before; their bodies are only a day old if you think about it. I don’t think STD’s are going to be an issue.”

“STDs aren’t the only thing that can result from sex.” Charlie reminded, aware that there were at least two ‘straight’ couples on the island.

“They’re probably only going to be human for another day or two. I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about.”

 

The car ride back to their temporary places of residence was a little more awkward than it had been the previous night. Charlie let James and Edward into the guest room with a knowing wink and a “have a good night you two,” while Ted had moved the sleeper sofa for Gordon and Henry into the spare room at his house. He wanted as many walls as possible between him and what the engines would inevitably get up to that night. 

“So. . .” James looked at Edward, raising an eyebrow as he tugged his shirt off over his head. “Want to try doing it like people do?”

Edward shrugged. He wasn’t sure why James was so keen on this idea, but the humans in all the movies seemed to enjoy it so it couldn’t be all bad. Might as well give it a try while they had the chance. “Sure, why not?”

It took Edward a little bit longer to struggle out of his clothes than his partner, but soon both men were completely nude and sitting on the edge of the bed. Deciding to let James take the lead, Edward laid back on the bed and found a comfortable position. 

“So, I guess we should start by touching?” James straddled Edward, gently running his hands across his partner’s body. It was interesting to see how their bodies were similar, and how they differed. Humans all had the same basic, boring body plan, of course. So it was the little things that made it possible to tell them apart. James was on the thinner side, with broader shoulders that tapered down into narrow hips, but well-muscled in a manner befitting a fairly strong mixed-traffic engine. 

Edward was similarly built, but wider in the hips and softer around the edges. Age and years of operating in ill-repair had taken the hardness from his muscles, but made him no less powerful in James’ eyes. The red engine gently moved his hands lower, enjoying the little sounds his partner made in response. 

It took a few minutes for the fuzz to lift from Edward’s mind and remember the lesson from earlier. Recalling one of the tips Sam had given, Edward lifted his head and ran his tongue along one of James’ nipples. It was a bit weird to be tasting his partner like this, but Edward quite liked the pleased shiver that resulted. 

The two enjoyed just touching each other for a while longer, until James decided to put the next part of their lesson into motion. Humming to himself, James moved lower until he was level with his partner’s crotch. A frown briefly flitted across his face as he examined this new find. “Uh, Edward? Do you know which part you have? This doesn’t really look like the drawings in the lesson.”

“Hmmm?” The question pulled Edward from the lazy pleasure floating about his body and he propped himself up on his elbows to see just what his partner was looking at. “Huh. I guess it doesn’t. Well, driver did say that there was some variation. You have the rod end, right?”

James looked down between his legs, confirming that what was dangling there did indeed look like the illustrations on the poster boards. “Yep, seems that way.”

“Well.” Edward shifted so that he could feel his equipment for himself, unable to get at an angle to really see it properly. It was surprisingly wet down there, the result of his body producing a natural lubricant, presumably. After a bit of exploration, his fingers slipped into something quite warm and damp, confirming Edward’s suspicions. “I appear to have the hole-part. I’m pretty sure that means our parts are compatible.”

“Great. I really didn’t want to try and use the waste-end.” James smiled and reached for the bottle of lubricant that they had been given. After applying a healthy amount, he carefully lined up with his partner. “So, I just stick it in, right?”

“I believe that’s the general idea.” Edward braced himself as James pushed forward, the lubricant not quite preventing him from feeling the almost-painful sudden stretch of a body part that had never been abused in such a way before. That was soon covered up by just how good it felt, and Edward put his head back against the pillow before his arms could give out on him. Now he knew just why everyone in the movies acted so funny when they did this. It was like nothing he had ever felt before.

It seemed to have affected James just as strongly, because his arms were trembling as he attempted to hold himself up even while seated firmly inside his partner. Gently, Edward reached up and pulled James down over him. The added weight was maybe a bit uncomfortable, but not entirely unpleasant. For one, now James was close enough to kiss again. 

“So.” James mumbled into Edward’s collarbone after having a little bit to get used to the intense heat crashing about his body. Suddenly, all of the slide cards and stories from the lesson earlier seemed to have completely vanished from his mind. “What now?”

Edward’s laughter vibrated them both as the blue engine took over. At least one of them had retained some information from the talk.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, Charlie Sand knocked on the door to his spare bedroom. A voice responded “yes?” so Charlie swung the door open and yelped at the sight that greeted him, immediately slamming the door shut again. Unfortunately, the visual of Edward standing completely naked in the middle of the room would probably be seared into his mind forever more. 

“Jesus, Edward!” Charlie leaned his forehead against the door with a groan. “Put pants on before responding to a knock on the door. In fact, put pants on anyway. And tell James to get his ass out of bed, too. I leave for Tidmouth in fifteen minutes and the Fat Controller wants to talk to you all.”

Twenty minutes later, Charlie had managed to get the both of them into his car and started off towards Tidmouth sheds. “So, uh. How was your night?” The engine driver asked cautiously, looking in the rearview mirror at the two in his backseat. 

“I think it went pretty well.” Edward offered, glancing at his partner. “Sex is. . . kinda weird. But good. James figured out this one move-“

“Ah ah ah,” Charlie hastily cut him off. “I don’t need the dirty details. Please.”

“Well, if we’re still around tonight we figured we’d try some other stuff.” James seemed very proud of himself at Edward’s assessment of his abilities. 

“Any suggestions?” Edward looked to his driver for advice. 

“Uh. No.” Charlie loved his engine, he really did, but that was one place he was not going. “Ask Sam when we get to the sheds. That’s his area of expertise.”

However, it turned out there wouldn’t be time to ask Sam for sex advice because Sir Topham had decided on the best way to keep everyone busy for however long this human business lasted. The engines would be riding along with their crew, leaning how to operate their bodies from this side of the controls. This would hopefully keep them occupied, and also ease some of the stress on the crews. 

Sam set off almost immediately with Gordon and the express, looking forward to utilizing the blue engine’s well-built human body for the all important task of shoveling coal. Now maybe Gordon would stop complaining about his fireman’s shoveling abilities as he often did. 

Edward, meanwhile, climbed up into his own cab and looked at the complicated controls. It all looked much more difficult from this side of things. “So, what do we have to do today?” 

“Looks like more goods trains headed for that construction on Misty Island.” Charlie released the engine’s brakes and started them slowly rolling towards the turntable. “Then the usual afternoon passenger run.”

“What are they building on Misty Island?” Edward asked curiously as he carefully watched his driver at the controls. “I didn’t think anyone lived there, not since the logging station closed down.”

“Rich people’s houses.” Sidney grunted, throwing a shovelful of coal on the fire. “Some high-end real estate company is building exclusive housing communities on the island.”

“I think the logging station is also being turned into a museum.” Charlie added. “That’s why there’s all that stuff going on at the Search and Rescue center to re-open the tunnel. Rumor is the Fat Controller is getting a new electric locomotive to handle freight and passengers to the island.”

“It’ll be nice when these goods trains can go straight to the island rather than getting piled up at the docks waiting for a ship.” Even if it meant less traffic for his branch line. Edward liked to keep busy, and knew BoCo did too, but there were limits to how much goods traffic an engine could stand. “Did you hear that Brendam might be getting tugboats?”

“Nope. Always wondered why there weren’t any, though.” Charlie brought them into the Knapford yards, where a goods train was waiting to be taken to the docks. “Us crews only really hear the railway gossip. The dockside engines probably know more about that.”

The rest of the trip to the docks was filled with instruction as Charlie helped show Edward the variety of controls in the cab and where they were located. Edward picked it all up pretty quickly, to no one’s surprise, and was allowed to take over once they had switched onto the Wellsworth line. 

After delivering the trucks to their destination, a short break was on the schedule while the trucks were un-loaded. Edward hopped down from his cab, taking the opportunity to stretch surprisingly stiff and sore muscles. 

Taking in a deep breath, Edward walked over to the edge of the seawall to enjoy the fresh air. A large steamer was being unloaded, filling the air with the sounds of sailors chatting and crates shifting. As Edward took a seat on an unoccupied bollard, another engine-turned human joined him. 

“Hello, Porter.” Edward greeted with a smile. “How was your night?”

Porter grinned. That phrase would never be quite the same, and he doubted he’d ever be able to hear it again without chuckling a little. “I think it went alright. I did get a chance to try out some of what we learned in that lesson yesterday.” He raised his bushy eyebrows suggestively, making Edward laugh. 

“So I take it you finally had a chance to talk to Timothy then?” 

“Yes, I did. Right before this happened, actually.” Porter became a little more serious and lowered his voice. “Thank you for the advice, really. Just so you know; Timothy wants to keep it all private. I told him you know, but he’d rather nobody else did. He’s afraid Bill and Ben would tease him relentlessly if they found out.”

“Those two.” Edward sighed and shook his head. “I could talk to them, if you want? I know they can be irritating little pranksters, but I can usually get them to listen to me.”

“Thanks, Edward. I’ll ask him. But I don’t want to do anything without his OK.” 

“Perfectly understandable.” Edward got back to his feet and tried to stretch out his sore back. Time to get back to work. “Well, I hope things go well for you two. You can always talk to me if you need to.”

“James is lucky to have you, Edward.” Porter turned when he heard the sound of his own whistle coming from the other end of the dockyard. “Uh oh, sounds like I’m needed. See you later!”

“Bye, Porter!” Edward walked back to his own engine and got back up into the cab. There were parts that needed delivering to Wellsworth. 

 

Out on the mainline, Gordon was hurrying across the island in his daily task of pulling the Wild Nor’wester. It was a Saturday, so there weren’t as many trips to make as usual. For once, Gordon was thankful. His fireman was showing him the best way to shovel coal into the firebox and Gordon was really quite ready to be done. 

After leaving Cronk, there was a good, long run before the next stop of the Express. Sam was able to set the controls and lean back for the first real break of the run. God, it would be nice when Gordon could get back to taking care of the stopping and starting. 

“So,” Sam asked curiously as Gordon was allowed to put down the shovel and straighten up for a bit. “How did last night with Henry go?”

Gordon raised his eyebrows, a bit surprised at the choice of conversation topic. “It was okay, I guess. Henry and I both have the same parts, so it took a little bit to figure something out.”

“You know, I’m pretty sure I covered that topic in my lesson.” Sam prompted. He never understood why gay sex bewildered so many people, it really wasn’t that hard. “Don’t be afraid to go in the back door.”

Gordon curled his lip at the crude terminology, and at the memories of the night before. “Henry didn’t particularly want something around his waste disposal orifice. Or to put his parts near mine. Something about it not being hygienic. We mostly just used our hands.”

Sam had to try very hard not to laugh at the engine’s name for “butthole.” That was one he hadn’t heard before. On the other hand, he did feel a little bad for forgetting that Henry was a hypochondriac and might have some reservations about sex. “I’ll see if I can talk with him. You know, you might try showering together. No mess to clean up, you won’t get dirty. Just make sure you don’t slip, falling in the shower while trying to have sex sucks.”

There was a disgruntled noise from the firemen, who had no choice but to listen to the conversation at hand. 

“Sorry, Steve.” Sam laughed and gave the younger man a pat on the shoulder. “We’ll chat about something else.”

 

 

The days stretched on in what became an uneasy waiting game. Last time, the engines had turned back to their normal selves after two days. This little adventure seemed destined to last longer, however. The engines were all getting a little antsy and stressed, uncomfortable from so long stuck in human form. Those who were in romantic relationships sought comfort from their partners, but for the others the stress was really starting to show. 

It had been several days since the change, and one morning in the car, Charlie noticed that his passengers seemed a little quieter than normal. “You two doing okay?”

James looked out the window, stubbornly silent, while Edward just sighed. 

“Last night, didn’t go as well.” The blue engine offered, “James thought he’d try something new and then couldn’t go through with it.”

“Oh no.” Charlie was really afraid to ask, but his curiosity got the better of him. “What happened?”

“Well. . .”

 

The night before, James and Edward had been lying in the bed when James suggested trying out something Sam had mentioned to him. Since their first time having sex, the two had given it a few more go-rounds. Nothing more adventurous than that first night, a bit of light touching before James got on top and started moving. The two had decided that sex was alright, kind of fun, but still rather weird. 

At James’ suggestion, Edward shrugged and undressed. Couldn’t hurt to try out a different thing, right?

“So, Sam said to try using my mouth.” James said, kneeling down between his partner’s legs. “Called it ‘Eating out’ or something.”

“Okay.” Honestly, putting your mouth on someone’s private bits sounded a bit messy, but was worth a try. 

James bent down, getting his face up close and person with Edward’s crotch, when he suddenly recoiled with a violent snort. 

“What?” Edward sat up, looking at the scrunched up expression on his partner’s face with some concern. 

“It smells. . . funny.” James offered after a moment, sniffling a few times to get the smell out of his nose. “Like fish.”

“Like fish? Are you saying I smell like fish?” Edward put a few fingers down there and sniffed them experimentally. “I don’t smell anything.”

This didn’t seem to comfort James any, because he suddenly couldn’t seem to look further south than Edward’s waist.

“You didn’t have any problem with sticking other body parts down there.” Edward reasoned. 

“Yes, but. . .” James tried to articulate his thoughts. It wasn’t that he was disgusted with –Edward- just that one part of him. “You know I hate fish, Edward!”

Edward rolled his eyes and turned over. “Just go to bed, James.”

Still unhappy, the red engine bedded down next to his partner and managed a few hours of uneasy sleep. 

 

As Edward finished his little story, Charlie tried to contain his laughter. He really did. Unfortunately, he just couldn’t. In fact, he had to pull over and stop the car he was laughing so hard. The two passengers in the backseat looked at their driver with confusion. 

“It wasn’t funny!” James exclaimed, only making the man laugh harder. 

By the time they reached Tidmouth sheds, Charlie had mostly recovered from his fit. That is, until he overheard Ted complaining to Sam that Gordon and Henry had broken the shower rod in the guest bathroom. That set him off again for another good fifteen minutes. He felt maybe a little bad for laughing at the engine’s misadventures, but at least he had some great stories to tell to future drivers. 

 

After a week and a half, going to the guest room to wake up Edward and James had become fairly routine for Charlie Sand. Every morning, he secretly hoped that he would find the room empty and be able to go back to Tidmouth to see his engine back to normal. 

When he knocked on the door and got no response, Charlie felt a little bubble of hope grow in his chest. He knocked again for good measure, before carefully opening the door. 

To his disappointment, there was someone clearly asleep curled up in the bed. However, it was just one body. Charlie got closer, frowning when he saw that James was gone. “Edward? You awake? Where’d James get to?”

No answer. Edward didn’t even twitch at his driver’s voice. Strange, the blue engine normally wasn’t a terribly deep sleeper and was very easy to get up in the mornings. “Edward?” He shook the man’s shoulder, but still nothing. 

Growing more worried, Charlie peeled the covers back. Edward’s chest was rising and falling visibly, so he was still alive. But otherwise he was completely still. Not even a finger or eyelid twitched. 

The phone ringing distracted Charlie from this concerning find, and he left the guest bedroom to pick up the telephone out in the living room. “Hello?”

“Charlie, this is Rick. Listen, I’m at Tidmouth Sheds. All the engines are here back to normal except Edward. James is about to have a panic attack. Is he still back there at your place?”

Charlie glanced back towards his guest bedroom, an uneasy feeling growing in the pit of his stomach. “Yeah, yeah. Tell James not to worry, I’ll be down at the shed in a few minutes.”

Hopefully, this was just some weird hiccup in the magic that affected the engines and not something more serious.


	5. Chapter 5

It took a bit of man-handling to get Edward’s unresponsive body out of the guest bedroom and to the car. Charlie thought that he seemed to weigh less than a human adult should, but Edward was still taller than him and made for an awkward burden as he wrestled with the car door. 

Charlie finally managed to get Edward buckled securely into the passenger seat and began making his way to Tidmouth sheds, perhaps exceeding the speed limit a little in his haste to get there. He was about a mile from the sheds when there was a gasp from the passenger seat and Edward suddenly sat up straight, placing a hand to his head. 

“Driver?” Edward looked around in confusion. “How did I get in the car? What’s happened?”

“I carried you to the car.” Charlie didn’t dare stop, despite his concern for his passenger. “How do you feel? Are you alright?”

“I feel. . . a bit odd.” Edward looked down at his hands, flexing his fingers cautiously. “Where is James?”

Charlie grimaced. He hadn’t really wanted to tell Edward that everyone else was back to normal, but he’d have to find out sooner or later. “James is at the shed. Everyone else went back to their bodies last night.”

“Except me.” Edward finished. What had happened to him?

At the shed, Edward was out of the car and into the building several steps ahead of his driver. Inside was a familiar sight that he had missed dearly. The air was full of happy chatter as the engines got their steam up for the day, crews going about their oiling routines as usual while firemen stoked the fires. 

“Edward!” James happily exclaimed when he spotted his partner come into the shed. He was confused as to why the blue engine was still human, but glad to see he was okay none the less. When he’d woken up that morning to see everyone back to normal except Edward, well, he’d honestly thought the worst. 

“James!” Edward smiled at his partner, before looking up at his own, silent body. Why was he still here, solid and human? Maybe it was as simple a matter as willing himself back to his body. After years of practice, moving from his human form to his actual body was as easy as breathing. 

Closing his eyes, Edward concentrated. And, to his surprise, it actually worked. Suddenly he was an engine again, and it felt amazing. Edward hummed happily at the feeling of heat from his firebox and the bubbling of steam rising in his boiler. How he had missed those sensations. 

Charlie had walked up to stand beside Edward, and it was only his fast reflexes that allowed him to catch the taller man when his human form suddenly crumpled lifelessly to the ground. The engine driver looked up at the smiling face that had appeared on the blue engine’s smokebox and back down to the unconscious human body in his arms. “We have a problem.”

After a few minutes it became clear that no matter how much Edward willed it, his human body just would not dissipate. When he left it, it simply collapsed where ever it was until he went back to it. Nothing seemed to be physically wrong with Edward’s human body, and his real body was in perfect running order as far as his crew could tell, so they were at a loss for how to explain this strange phenomenon. 

The Fat Controller was also unable to explain what was happening. There were no reports of anything similar across the island, which meant it was just Edward. 

“Is it possible to leave his. . . um, body on the sofa?” Sidney suggested. It’d be a bit weird, but at least they’d have Edward back mostly normal. 

They tried just that, Edward going human long enough to walk over and lie down on a raggedy sofa in the crew break room. Then they set out to start the day. It was a weekday, so the morning passenger train was on the schedule to collect the early commuters. 

Edward had gotten about a mile down the track when everything suddenly went black. His crew noticed him suddenly slowing down and took over. It was Charlie who realized what must have happened and took them back to Tidmouth sheds. Clearly, they would have to re-think their plan because it seemed if Edward got more than a mile from his human form he passed out. 

Charlie called the Wellsworth shed and asked if BoCo could please take their morning passengers while Sidney tried to figure out something to do. Edward was rather opposed to riding along as a human in his cab, having had quite enough of that over the last week and a half, and his crew honestly preferred to have him in control anyway. 

Digging around in the storage sheds at the yard, Sidney managed to produce an ugly old chair and some strapping. They wedged the chair in against the tender and rigged up the strap as a kind of seatbelt, then off they went. It made the already cramped cab a little smaller, but was the most efficient solution they could think of. 

Other than the sudden addition of another body to the cab, things went fairly well that day. There was a bit of light teasing from BoCo about missing the early passenger run, but the green diesel was mostly just happy to know that Edward was okay. 

“Edward, I’m glad to see you.” BoCo pulled into the yard at Wellsworth with his coaches, coming in for a rest after finishing the run. “Did something happen this morning?”

“There was just a bit of trouble at the shed.” Edward didn’t really want others to know that he was having problems, even his good friend. Though he had worked on the island for many years, there was still always that fear in the back of his mind that his next breakdown or mechanical issue would be his last. “Thank you for taking my passengers, BoCo.”

` “You don’t have to thank me, Edward.” BoCo grinned. “I’ll take your coaches any time you want, you don’t even need to ask.”

“Is that so? Well, I’m afraid you’ll just have to give them up for the day.” Edward moved to pick up a goods train as BoCo uncoupled from the coaches. “Because the 3pm local is all mine.”

“Oh, fine.” BoCo teased. “See if I help you again.”

“Remind me why I keep you on my branch line?” Edward chuckled as he pulled out of the yard headed for Wellsworth. “I’ll see you later, BoCo!”

“Bye, Edward!”

Looking over his train of trucks, Edward puzzled over the flatbeds of rails and sleepers. Clearly, new track was being laid somewhere. “So, what do you think? More supplies for the Misty Island construction?”

“Nope!” Charlie called back from the cab, looking over his orders for the train. “This stuff is headed for the tunnel work.”

“Still?” Edward would’ve assumed they’d be done with that by now, they’d already been working on it for so long. “The tunnel already has track.”

“They must be replacing all of it.” They switched onto the coastal track and were shortly at the Search and Rescue center. Just beyond the buildings stood the opening to the Misty Island tunnel. It was less dark and imposing than it had been, the new work had included installing enormous floodlights to illuminate the work area. 

“Oh, good, the rails and sleepers!” Stafford buzzed over to take the trucks from Edward. “Thanks, Edward, that’s just what we needed.”

“Are they re-laying the track in the tunnel?” Edward asked curiously. Whatever was in there had been pretty old, admittedly. 

“Yep.” Stafford pushed the trucks over to the tunnel. “It’s being fixed up for high-speed service. The old stuff is all rusty and half the sleepers are rotted. It’s a good thing I’m not too heavy!”

“Good thing! I’ll see you later, Stafford.” Back to Wellsworth again for another goods train, then a train from Brendam bound for Knapford, then the afternoon passenger run. Edward let the busy work of the branch line erase the worries from his mind and tried to forget about his problems for at least a few hours. 

 

A few weeks passed and still no change. Edward’s human body was frustratingly solid despite his best efforts, so they continued to strap it into the chair in the cab when it was time for work. He seemed to be caught in a strange limbo between fully human and solid illusion. Charlie and Sidney both got into the habit of bringing a little extra in their lunchboxes every day, as Edward apparently needed to eat at least once a day. A sandwich and a couple apples really shouldn’t be enough to sustain an adult man, but Edward said it was okay. His human form also still breathed and had a heartbeat, but didn’t require the use of a bathroom (much to everyone’s relief), and the clothes he conjured where just as immaterial as they had been before all this weirdness started. 

“Well, at least we don’t have to buy you clothes.” Charlie observed as he let himself into the break room behind Tidmouth Sheds one morning. The small room had been converted into a kind of bedroom, with a mattress shoved against one wall and a few blankets donated by the crews. Attempting to leave his human body on the sofa for the night only led to back pain Edward had discovered. 

“At least.” Edward frowned in concentration for the moment and the sleep clothes he was wearing flickered and changed into his usual trousers, shirt, and waistcoat. “Still nothing on what caused this?”

“Nope. Sorry Edward.” The blue engine had gone and spend the entire previous day at the Steamworks, hoping they could find some explanation, but of course there had been nothing. 

Sidney’s helpful suggestion was that they try and kill Edward’s human body, but that had been shot down almost immediately as too risky. Edward said he’d rather live stuck like this than risk dying for some ill-thought out idea. 

“So, do we have anything interesting on the schedule today?” Edward asked as he assisted his driver with the morning oiling. The nice thing about running the branch line that led to the island’s busiest port of import and export was that, in addition to regular daily trains, there were all kinds of interesting goods that needed to be taken to the many towns of the Sodor. Variety was the spice of life, so they said, and Edward loved seeing what all was coming and going from the docks. 

“Actually.” Charlie returned the oiling can to its place and fetched the orders for the day. “It looks like we’ve got rails and electrical cabling to be taken to Knapford.”

“More construction for the Misty Island service?” Edward had thought they’d mostly finished running the catenary lines from the Search and Rescue center through to Knapford.

“I don’t think so.” Climbing up into the cab, Charlie assisted the engine in strapping his human body into the make-shift seat they had installed. “There’s something on here about streetcar service.”

“Oh, I heard about that in the paper,” Sidney put in, checking the water levels in the boiler. “I guess with all the tourists and stuff, they decided to put in more public transit by running streetcars. Since nobody wants the streets clogged up by buses or something.”

“Welp, anything that brings more tourists to the island.” Charlie was a big supporter of tourism and new residents on Sodor, anything to bring in more money to the local economy. It took a lot of passenger and goods traffic to keep an expensive operation like the Northwestern Railway in business. 

“I’ve never met a streetcar before.” Edward said thoughtfully as he pulled away from Tidmouth sheds and started off for Brendam. “Do you think they’re alive like engines are?”

“I’m sure some are.” Charlie leaned out the window to give the side of the cab a pat. “Maybe after all these rails are laid, you’ll get a chance to meet them.”

It took much of the morning to take the heavy goods train to Knapford, and with the flatbeds of rails and cabling delivered it was time for lunch. Edward moved over onto a siding and climbed down from his cab, joining his crew at an old wooden table where lunchboxes were being unpacked, when a familiar whistle drew his attention. 

“Morning, Edward!” James rolled to a stop on the same siding, halting close behind the buffers of the blue engine in front of him. 

“Good morning, James.” Edward smiled when his partner jumped down to embrace him tightly. James had been doing a fairly good job at dealing with whatever it was going on with Edward, though there were times when the blue engine was afraid his partner was trying a little too hard to pretend that nothing was wrong at all. 

“The Fat Controller said I could have a lunch break with you. Oh, and I got you something!” James dashed back to his cab and retrieved something from the footplate before returning to Edward. “Uh, here. I thought you might like this.”

Edward accepted the item, which turned out to be a little tin lunchbox with a cartoon steam locomotive depicted on the lid. Inside was a neatly cut sandwich, a banana, and waterbottle that matched the lunchbox. It was probably James’ driver that had picked it up, since the red engine had no human money of his own, but Edward still greatly appreciated the sentiment. 

“Thank you, James.” Edward clicked the lunchbox shut and ran his fingers over the raised illustration on the lid. His breath hitched, and he was surprised to feel wetness on his cheeks. 

“Edward?” James moved closer when he saw tears drip from his partner’s eyes. The lunchbox had been supposed to cheer Edward up, not make him cry. James was woefully unprepared to deal with emotional distress, his own or otherwise. “Are you okay? I’m sorry, I thought you’d like it.”

“I do like it.” Edward managed, unable to articulate why something so simple was making him so emotional. He raised a hand to wipe at his eyes, stepping forward to give his partner a kiss as he often did when words failed. 

“O-okay.” James took Edward’s hand and the two moved to sit at the table next to the engine crews. 

Charlie looked to his engine with concern. “Are you doing alright there, Edward? Is something wrong?”

Edward shook his head, opening the lunchbox to carefully remove one half of the sandwich. “James brought me lunch.”

“That’s great.” Charlie said gently, “And now you have your own lunchbox, if you want I can take it with me and pack it in the mornings for you.”

“I don’t want to be trouble.” Edward already hated that his crew was giving up some of their food for him. He knew that food cost money, and that he had no real way of repaying his driver. 

“Nonsense.” Charlie put a smile on his face as he started in on his own lunch. “Ever since my kids moved out, my wife has been looking for an excuse to pack lunches again. There’s only so many new recipes I can handle on my own.”

“I can pick up things sometimes too.” James offered; not to be outdone when it came to providing for his partner. “My morning route goes right by a sandwich stop that driver likes to stop at.”

Tears sprang unbidden to Edward’s eyes once more, apparently from the support the others were showing him, so he dug into his sandwich to avoid having to say anything more. 


	6. Chapter 6

One morning, Edward was making his way down his branch line towards the docks. The blue engine was feeling a little strange that morning. Well, stranger than usual, but the familiar scenery of the Brendam branch line did a fair job of helping him feel better. 

As Edward arrived at the docks with the morning passenger train he was surprised to see an enormous silver streamlined ship tied up on the seawall ahead of the Roxstar. Though Edward didn’t pay a great amount of attention to the ship traffic at the docks, he knew for sure that this was a boat he had never seen before. 

The new ship was also alive, unlike most of the vessels that called at the island. Chuffing past the sleeping vessel, Edward came to a halt at the Brendam platform to offload passengers. “Salty, who is that?”

The dockside diesel paused in his work of shunting trucks and followed Edward’s gaze. “Ah, I see you’ve noticed Miss Kalakala. She’s a new boat, from America. Came with a group of tugboats yesterday.”

“Oh, the tugboats finally came?” Edward had almost forgotten about the conversation he’d had about the subject weeks before. 

“Indeed they did.” Salty finished shunting the trucks over to one of the wharf-side warehouses, where men were busy at work moving crates and stacks of building materials so that they could be loaded by crane onto several waiting barges. It seemed that the construction supplies were finally getting taken to Misty Island. “Very fine sailors, all of them. Will really liven up this place! And, I’ve finally got some new faces to share sea stories with.”

“And hopefully some new stories so I don’t have to keep hearing the same ones all the time.” Cranky put in from high above them as he lowered down cargo onto the barges. 

“What’s tha,’ a dockside crane that doesn’t like sea stories?” A new voice with a thick accent came from beyond the seawall, and as Edward turned around on the loop he caught sight of a large yellow and black tugboat tying up to the waiting barges. 

“Hello, there!” Edward called, eager to meet one of the newcomers to the island. “My name is Edward. Are you one of the new tugboats for the island?”

“Tha’s me,” The tug responded with a smile. “My name is Big Mac. I’m here with the rest of the Star Fleet, the others are around here somewhere.”

As he spoke, another tugboat comparable in size and shape sailed past with empty barges in tow, headed for another part of the seawall, and blew his whistle in greeting. “Hello, Big Mac!”

“Hello there, Warrior.” Big Mac responded, casting off from the docks and carefully backing out into the bay. “Well, see you later, Edward. Gotta get these construction supplies to Misty Island.”

“Goodbye!” Edward pulled back to the platform, but was stopped by the dockside manager coming out with paperwork in hand. 

“Ah, Edward, there you are.” The man checked his clipboard. “You’ve got a few hours until your next train. I’ve got a special delivery that needs to be taken to the Steamworks, can you take it?”

“Of course, sir.” A special delivery for the Steamworks sounded very exciting. Edward was uncoupled from his coaches and given a flatbed and a brake van instead. A steam whistle sounded out on the bay, and as Edward moved the trucks over to the track by Cranky he could see yet another tugboat bringing over a pair of barges with what looked like a full passenger train aboard. 

“Hello there.” Edward greeted the newcomer, looking with interest at the contents of the barge. He was curious to know what the new equipment was for; there wasn’t really a lack of coaches on the island. “Are you one of the Star Fleet?”

“Why, yes.” The tug maneuvered one of his barges alongside the pier and several sailors came over to secure lines to bollards on the seawall. “I’m Top Hat, the railway tug.”

“A railway tug?” Edward had seen engines transported by ship before, but he’d never heard of a tugboat specifically for moving rolling stock. With some surprise, he noticed that all of the new coaches had American-style knuckle couplers. “Wait, did you bring these all the way from America?” 

“Yes, I did. And I hope you appreciate them.” Top Hat gave a haughty sniff as Cranky lowered down his hook to pick up a piece of rolling stock from the center of the barge. “I nearly lost that GG-1 in the storm we sailed through, had to run out and chain it back up myself.”

Edward made a suitably impressed sound in response, watching as Cranky carefully hoisted a large, streamlined shape up from the barge. What Edward had at first taken for an odd carriage actually appeared to be a locomotive. It was double-ended with a center cab, a rarity on Sudrian rails, and had odd wire frames folded down above either end. The paint was a weathered grey, fading and cracked at the edges. The strangest thing, though, was that the engine didn’t have a face. 

Lifeless locomotives weren’t unknown to Sudrian engines, but they rarely came to the island and none worked for the Northwestern. 

“It’s not alive,” Edward murmured, a little weirded out as the new engine was lowered onto his flatbed. 

“Of course.” Top Hat seemed entirely unconcerned as Cranky moved back to start picking up the coaches. “Made for a very boring sailing, not having anyone to talk with. Why, is something wrong?”

“No, nothing.” Edward pulled forward and switched lines to head north so that Cranky could continue unloading the barge. “I’ll see you later, then, Top Hat.”

“I’ll be here, I’m sure.” The tug responded in a bored tone, bobbing up and down in a gentle wake as he watched the harbor crane work. 

 

As Edward chuffed down his branch line towards Wellsworth, his crew noticed the engine was a bit more subdued than usual. 

“Hey, Edward, everything alright?” Charlie called out the window. Things had been so strange lately that any change in his engine gave the driver cause for concern. 

“Yes, I’m fine.” Edward waited for the signal to go green; then pulled onto the mainline to head for Crovan’s Gate. “It’s just been awhile since I’ve been around an engine that wasn’t alive.”

“I see.” Charlie wasn’t bothered by the non-living locomotive, but he could understand why Edward was. “It is a bit odd. I’m pretty sure this must be the new electric engine, but why would the Fat Controller get a lifeless one? I thought he only used living engines on the railway.”

“Who knows.” Sidney leaned on his stoker’s shovel and looked back over the tender at the just-visible cab of the American locomotive. It was weird. “Looks fast and powerful, at least.”

“Yeah, it’s a GG-1. I’ve heard about them, they’re used in America for high speed passengers and freight.” Charlie allowed himself a glance as well. “Probably a good looking engine in its day, shame about that awful paint job. Looks like it was dipped in mop water.”

Edward focused on the rails and let the chatter of his crew wash over him. As he rolled along the mainline, other engines passing noticed his unusual cargo. Several of Edward’s friends attempted to inquire about the new locomotive, only to stop awkwardly upon realizing the electric engine had no face. 

Upon reaching Crovan’s Gate, it took a little longer than usual for Edward to make his way into the Steamworks. There was a mess of construction going on around the large complex that made up the Sodor Steamworks, Carriage Works, and various other railroad-related shops. A new shop was apparently going up, though when Edward had been there last Victor hadn’t been able to say much about it. 

“Ah, good afternoon, my friend,” As Edward entered the main bay of the Steamworks, Victor puffed up to greet him. “I take it you are here with the new locomotive?”

“Yes, I am.” The turntable shifted his way, allowing Edward to pull forward until his cargo was underneath the shop lift that would take it off the flatbed. 

“Welcome to Sodo- oh,” Victor began to greet the new engine only to suddenly cut himself off. “Well, that is odd.”

“Yes, I’m not sure why, but the Fat Controller has bought a non-living engine.” Steel clanked as workers hooked hefty chains under the GG-1’s frame. Edward tried to take make conversation to take his mind off the possible implications. “So, what is this engine in for?”

“Oh, the usual.” Victor watched with careful eyes as the electric engine was lifted from the flatbed and carried over to one of the repair bays. “We have to convert it over to screwlink-and-buffer coupling from the American system. A new paint job. Oh, and I think something has to be changed with the alternators. American lines use different amounts of electricity. It’s too bad the new Electric Works aren’t done yet.”

“Electric Works? Is that what they’re building?” Edward hadn’t given too much thought as to where electric engines like Stafford went for repair and service. “I guess it makes sense, if we’re getting this engine. And the new streetcars will be electric too, won’t they?”

“They will, indeed. It will be good to have a building just for electrics.” Victor winced when he heard a crash from the other end of the shop. “Kevin! Excuse me, Edward, but I must get back to work. I will talk to you later, my friend.”

Edward chuckled at the distant cry of “I’m okay!” from the shop’s resident clumsy crane and backed out the way he had come in, “I’ll see you later, Victor.”

Running empty always made for a smooth trip along the mainline, Edward cruising along at a comfortable speed as he quickly made his way back towards Wellsworth. It sometimes reminded him of his days on the mainland, decades ago when he had been considered an express passenger engine. Those days were long gone, but it was nice to know he could still achieve a decent turn of speed on a good afternoon. 

Entering Wellsworth yard to drop off his empty flatbed and brake van, Edward’s good mood was tempered slightly by a rather queasy feeling developing in his boiler. He’d been feeling slightly ‘off’ for a few days, occasional moments of sickly sensations that came and went. He hadn’t bothered to mention it to his crew, not wanting them to worry, but this time the unpleasant feeling seemed determined to stick around longer than usual. 

“Afternoon, Edward.” BoCo called as he pulled into the yard to drop off a goods train. The green diesel rolled to a stop next to his friend, noticing that Edward didn’t have his normal pleasant smile. “Everything alright?”

“Just fine.” Edward tamped down the nausea through sheer willpower, “I got to take the new engine to the Steamworks. It just arrived yesterday with the new tugboats. It’s a streamlined electric engine from America.”

“Really?” BoCo was sad to have missed that. “Does this new engine have a name?”

“No, I don’t think so. It’s not really . . . alive.” 

BoCo’s face pulled into a light frown. He hadn’t seen a lifeless engine since before he came to the island. “Oh. How odd. Well, I have to deliver an oil train to Cronk. I’ll see you later.”

As BoCo pulled away, black diesel exhaust puffed from his vents and wind blew it past Edward. Though slightly unpleasant, the smell didn’t usually bother the blue engine all that much. This time, though, Edward found himself coughing heavily. Combined with the nausea he was already feeling, and suddenly there was a very unhappy roiling somewhere in his middle. 

In the cab, Charlie and Sidney startled when Edward shifted into his human body without warning and tore at the straps holding him into the chair against the tender. Before either of them could assist, he was out of the chair and onto the ground beside the track heaving up what he had managed to eat for lunch earlier that day. 

“Edward!” Charlie was down almost as fast, rubbing at the engine’s back as he continued to dry heave, though nothing more came up. “What’s wrong?”

Edward coughed a few more times, but had at least gotten over the urge to gag. “I – I don’t know. I think it was that diesel exhaust from BoCo.” He attempted to stand, but felt the world sway before he could get to his feet and was forced back down to his knees. 

“That’s never bothered you before.” Charlie frowned, trying not to show just how worried he was and not quite succeeding. “Sidney, could you grab some water?”

The fireman tossed down a water bottle, which Charlie deftly caught before helping Edward sit back and sip from it slowly. 

“Thank you.” Edward said quietly. He no longer felt the overwhelming need to try and eject his stomach contents through his mouth, but still couldn’t quite get up the energy to move. 

“Are you going to be okay?” Charlie put the empty water bottle aside, “Do you want to just sit here a while? We can call another engine to take the afternoon passenger run.”

The thought of another engine coming in to take his train was enough motivation to for Edward to shakily force himself to his feet, still half supported by his driver. “No, I think I’ll be okay in a few minutes. Let me get back up into the cab and we’ll head for Brendam.”

By the time they reached the docks to pick up the coaches for the afternoon run, Edward was feeling mostly better. But an unusual tiredness still followed him like a heavy cloud as he finished up his jobs for the day. 

Edward was sick a couple more times over the next week, usually caused by the smell of diesel exhaust but occasionally for no real reason at all, and Charlie could no longer sit idly by. 

“I’m worried about him.” The engine driver confided in Sidney one evening as they cleaned up and got ready to go home for the day. “I know we had someone check him over as an engine, but maybe it’s time we called in a doctor or something to check him over as a human.”

“A doctor?” Sidney stripped off his coal-dust coated coveralls and threw them into his bag. “Any doctor that gets a good enough look at him will know he isn’t human. We’ll have to run it through the Fat Controller.”

“Yeah,” Charlie sighed. “Let me see what I can do. We just can’t ignore that something is obviously wrong.”

“Maybe this is why his human self is stuck.” Sidney suggested. “He caught something and it’s sick and won’t turn back.”

“He wasn’t nearly this sick two weeks ago. Unless it’s something really slow moving.” Charlie shook his head. “I just don’t know, Sid.”

 

As Edward’s crew talked, the blue engine himself was trying to relax on his bed in the converted break room. James was wrapped around his partner, attempted to offer what comfort he could give though physical contact. The red engine wasn’t very good at dealing with emotional troubles, but he was trying. 

“Are you feeling any better?” James asked, running one hand up and down Edward’s spine in what he hoped was a soothing manner. 

“Yes, thank you, James.” Edward relaxed back into the touch and sighed. “It’s mostly bad in the mornings and around lunch. Or sometimes just a nasty smell will set it off.”

“And no idea what’s causing it?” 

“Not really. Driver and Fireman don’t know either.” Edward looked up at his partner, catching the worry in the red engine’s tightly schooled expression. “Oh, James. I swear, I’ll be okay.”

“You’d better be.” James managed, wrapping his arms tighter. He was trying very hard not to get upset, because he knew that would just bother Edward more. The blue engine had been more emotional lately than James had ever seen, leaving James to try and be the steady and reliable one in their relationship. It wasn’t easy, but he was working on it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you don't know, this is a Pennsy GG-1. http://tinyurl.com/jfgygrn
> 
> Also, the tugs finally show up. They probably won't have too big a role in this fic, but we'll see where we end up.


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning, Edward woke up alone. He always did, of course. Though James often stayed up with him, when the red engine fell asleep his consciousness automatically reverted back to his engine body. Not that his fake body gave off any heat anyway, but it was still nice to lay in bed with someone else for awhile.

Edward groaned and sat up; changing over to his day clothing after a moment’s thought. He felt like his boiler was full of sludge, or whatever the human equivalent of such a thing was, and took several deep breaths to try and quell the sensation. 

A knock on the door drew Edward from his thoughts and he slowly stood, taking a moment to steady himself before opening the door. 

“You ready to go, Edward?” Charlie stood on the other side, dressed in his driver’s uniform after having finished the morning oiling. 

“Yes, I am.” Edward walked out of the breakroom and into the main body of the sheds, startled to realize it was almost empty. Was it really that late already? 

“Morning, Edward.” Emily was the only other engine still at the shed, though she looked nearly ready to leave. She was cheery and chipper, a smile on her face as steam hissed from her valve gear. 

“Good morning, Emily.” Edward couldn’t help but feel a little bouyed by the other engine’s enthusiasm. “What has you so excited this morning?”

“The Fat Controller has given me a new passenger train for the summer. I start today.” Though Emily had been intended for fast passenger service, she rarely actually got a chance to pull coaches. Apparently, that was changing. “There’s also, uh, something else I’ve been meaning to do for awhile. And today, I’m finally going to go and do it!”

“Well, good luck.” Edward settled into his real body with a deep sigh as Emily happily puffed out of the sheds. At least someone was having a good day. 

Once the morning passenger train was finished being delivered to Brendam, Edward had another special delivery for Crovan’s Gate. This time, it was all of the coaches that had been brought from America. Some workers had managed to hook up a kludge that would let Edward pull them despite the knuckle couplers, though he was instructed to go very slowly and take no risks.

At Wellsworth station, streamlined engine Skookum had paused to pick up passengers on their way to the mainland and was quite surprised to see Edward roll carefully through pulling a long string of coaches. 

“Hwah-wa, Edward, that’s quite a train.” Skookum complimented. Usually, the blue engine pulled fairly short passenger runs of only two or three coaches. These didn’t look like British carriages, though. In fact. . . “Wait, are those American?”

“Thank you, Skookum.” Edward felt proud to be pulling such an impressive-looking train, even though he wasn’t actually picking up passengers. “Yes, these are new coaches that were just delivered. They’re headed for the Carriage Works to be modified and cleaned up.”

“I can’t wait. I hope some of them end up on the Northwest Limited.” Skookum looked at the new coaches with jealously. “Especially that Skytop observation car. Nawitka!” 

“Maybe you will. Although, I think some of these coaches are for the new Misty Island electric service.” 

“Oh, right. Well, I look forward to meeting the new engine.” The guard’s whistle blew, and Skookum began to roll with powerful thrusts from their pistons. “Kloshe nanitch, Edward!”

“Take care, Skookum!” Edward called after the streamliner that was quickly growing distant. 

“I always forget how fast that engine is.” Charlie muttered as he watched Skookum rush off. 

“They’re right, though.” Sidney looked back at the train, “These are some nice coaches. Though I imagine they won’t be keeping the sleeping cars original. We don’t have overnighters on the island.”

“Maybe we will, who knows.” Edward continued on west in his own, much slower way. “The Fat Controller has been changing up a lot of service.”

“Hey, sometimes change is good.” Especially change bringing more visitors to the island. Charlie liked seeing the growth of the Northwestern Railway, “New faces, new trains. Keeps things interesting.”

The men at the Steamworks were quite happy to receive their new project, directing Edward to leave the coaches in the section of the works complex for carriages. Then it was time for lunch. There was a nice park next to the Crovan’s Gate station that made for a very pleasant place to sit and eat. 

Edward grabbed his own lunchbox and sat down at the table with his crew, interested to see what had been packed that day. James bought his lunch two or three days a week, otherwise it was prepared by his driver. 

“I made sure to grab more of those chocolate bars,” Charlie reassured as Edward opened the lid of his lunchbox. He had introduced chocolate to the engine a week before and now Edward was apparently hooked because he kept requesting more. Since the candy apparently kept Edward from getting horribly ill after eating, and because the engine was always unfailingly polite despite his obvious sweet tooth, Charlie kept providing it. It was a little funny to see how excited Edward got over the candy bars. 

“Thank you, driver.” Edward tore open the chocolate bar and broke off a piece, tossing it into his mouth with a pleased little hum. 

“You sure he should be eating so much of that?” Sidney whispered to Charlie, though he admittedly did smile at just how happy Edward looked. “You know James picks up a bunch of it for him too.”

Charlie shrugged. “Can’t hurt to indulge him. It isn’t like he’ll get fat off it or anything. And anything to keep him from heaving up his lunch over the trackside.”

 

And indeed, despite feeling a bit ill, Edward didn’t actually get the urge to hurl as he made his way back to Wellsworth. This was a marked improvement over the last week or two, which was reason enough to be in a good mood making his way down the mainline. 

That was until he encountered another streamliner waiting at Wellsworth, and this one wasn’t feeling so great. Caitlin was waiting by the platform with her matching train, a distracted and unhappy expression on her face. 

“Caitlin, what’s wrong?” Edward rolled to a stop, concerned to see the normally chipper engine so down. 

“Oh, hello, Edward.” Caitlin sighed heavily. “It’s Emily. She came up to Ulfstead today to talk to me. And, well, she told me that she has a crush on me.”

“Oh,” So that was why Emily had been so excited that morning. Edward knew that the Sterling engine had a little crush on Caitlin, but never thought she would actually act on it. “What did you say?”

“What else could I say? Emily is a good friend, but I’m in a relationship with Millie.” Caitlin cringed at the memory. “I hope she doesn’t hate me now. She rushed off crying and I don’t know where she went.”

“I’ll see if I can find her and talk to her.” Edward promised. “Don’t worry, Caitlin. Emily can never stay upset for long. It’ll be okay.”

“Thank you, Edward.” Caitlin managed a small smile as the guard’s whistle blew and she pulled away from the station in a rush of steam.

Wondering just when he’d become the go-to for romantic problems, Edward puffed off towards the docks. He had jobs to get done, but hopefully he would spot Emily on the way. 

 

As Edward was speaking with Caitlin, Emily was rushing down the south fork of the Mainline. She didn’t care where the rails took her, only that she keep moving further and further away from Ulfstead and the place of her incredible embarrassment. 

Unfortunately, Emily didn’t have her crew with her. They had been left back at Ulfstead with no idea why their engine had suddenly rushed away in tears. Without a fireman to shovel coal and a driver to regulate her systems, Emily eventually ran out of steam near Pirate’s Cove and slowly rolled to a halt. 

Hot, frustrated tears rolled down Emily’s face as she sat on the little-used branch line. How could she have been so stupid? She had gone up to Ulfstead to find Caitlin, feeling confident and self-assured. She had thought that there was no way the streamliner couldn’t like her back. How wrong she’d been. 

And now she’d run out of steam on a branch line that saw very few trains and no one knew where she was. At the very least, no one was around to see her cry. 

At least, that was what she thought. But then a gentle voice near her asked. “What’s wrong?”

Emily startled badly, looking through tear-blurred eyes to see someone standing near her on the trackside. This newcomer was tall, with white and red nautical-style clothing and long, curly black hair. She was also clearly not human, but Emily didn’t recognize her as one of the railways many engines.

“W-who are you?” Emily tried, and mostly failed, at keeping her voice from shaking. 

“My name is Lillie. I’m the new lightship.” The woman waved her hand towards the north, where Emily could just see a bright red ship with “LILLIE” painted in 6-foot high letters on the side. “Now, what’s your name?”

“Emily,” The Emerald engine sniffled in response, slowly calming down from her earlier distress. 

“I’m glad to meet you, Emily.” Lillie smiled, moving to take a seat on the rails in front of the engine. “Now, what has you so upset?”

“Well, there’s this engine. Caitlin.” Emily took a few deep breaths, words punctuated by little sobs and sniffles. “And she’s really cool, and gorgeous, and fast. And I really like her. Today, I went and I told her that. And- and. And she’s already in a relationship with someone else!” The tears made their return full force, Emily reliving the misery of the incident that had occurred less than an hour before. 

“Oh, honey,” Lillie was genuinely sympathetic as she leaned forward and gave Emily’s buffer beam a comforting pat. “I’m sorry that happened.” The lightship didn’t have much experience talking to others, but she made a very good listener as she sat and let Emily pour out all her thoughts and fears. 

 

It took a few hours for Emily’s crew to track her down to the south coast branch line, by which time she had mostly cried herself out and was tired but no longer susceptible to bursting into tears. Since she didn’t have the steam to move herself, Edward had been sent to bring her back to Tidmouth sheds. 

As Edward coupled up to Emily, Lillie waved goodbye and vanished with a little flash of light. 

“Who was that, Emily?” Edward asked curiously as he slowly started down the line. 

“Lillie. She’s a lightship,” Emily said softly. A little smile managed to appear on her face as she looked over to where the lightship’s real body was moored up behind the Sodor Maritime Museum. “She came over and we just . . . talked for awhile.”

“That sounds nice.” Edward was silent for a few minutes before deciding to address the issue at hand. “So, I saw Caitlin. She told me what happened. Do you want to talk about it?”

“You saw Caitlin?” Emily whispered, face pinching with guilt. “Does- does she hate me?”

“No, of course not!” Edward was a little surprised Emily would think such a thing. “Emily, Caitlin was very worried about you. You know she values your friendship.”

“I know.” That did make Emily feel a little bit better, at least, knowing that Caitlin had been worried about her. “I guess I just thought if I told her how I felt. I didn’t know about her and Millie. Or maybe I did and just forgot.”

“It’s alright.” Edward reassured before she could dig herself too deep. “I know it still hurts now, but it will be okay.”

“Thanks, Edward.” Emily was still kind of miserable, but now had a bit of hope that things would be better the next day. 

Once at Tidmouth Sheds, Edward shunted Emily into her usual stall before backing in to his own. It had been a long day, and Edward was ready to sit and relax with his partner for a few hours before getting some sleep. 

As his crew cleaned out his firebox and prepared him for the night, Edward climbed down from his cab and stepped onto the gravel floor of the sheds. As he shifted his weight, a sharp pain stabbed through his hips and up his back. Edward shut his eyes tightly, not quite managing to suppress the grunt of pain that resulted. 

“Edward?” James had come over just in time to see his partner hunch over a bit and press a hand to his pelvis. “Are you okay?”

“Just fine.” Edward slowly straightened, the pain fading to a much more tolerable dull throb. The blue engine had been trying very hard to hide the trouble he was having from his partner, not wanting to cause James too much worry. “I think I was just sitting for a bit too long today.”

“Okay.” James didn’t quite believe that, but didn’t press for more details. Instead, he looped an arm around his partner and started walking towards the bedroom/converted breakroom Edward had been using. “I got you another chocolate bar.”

The prospect of chocolate did a much better job at cheering Edward up. He smiled as he accepted the candy, biting into it eagerly. “Thank you, James,” He managed to mumble through a mouthful of chocolate.

“Of course,” James pushed the door to the breakroom open and steered Edward towards the bed. “Whatever you want, I can get.”

“Love you, James,” Edward paused in eating his chocolate bar long enough to give his partner a peck on the cheek. 

“I know,” The red engine responded with a confident smirk, “But it’s nice to be reminded.”

Edward finished his candy and tossed the wrapper in the trash, then leaned down to fetch a plastic basket from beside the bed. “I was going to go take a shower tonight. Care to join me?”

“Of course.” James didn’t need to shower, he had a human body which did not sweat, or get dirty. But he did like spending time with his partner, in whatever form that came in.

The actual roundhouse of Tidmouth Sheds was surrounded by a variety of smaller sheds and storage spaces, including a locker room with showers for crews that didn’t feel like going home coated in soot and oil. It was now late enough at night for it to be completely empty, which was really how Edward preferred it. 

Turning the water on, Edward stepped under the spray uncaring of the temperature. Though he could feel hot and cold, it wasn’t something that particularly bothered him. Still, it was nice when the water began to warm up to a comfortable heat, and even nicer when James’ cool body pressed against his back. 

“So,” James picked up the bar of soap and began the task of lathering his partner’s back. “How was the day?”

“Fine.” Edward hummed as the warm water soothed the lingering pain in his hips and abdomen. “I took some new coaches over to the Carriage Works. We’ve gotten new equipment from America. They’re very nice coaches.”

“For me, I expect.” James said haughtily, a teasing tone that told Edward he didn’t really mean it. “After all, it takes a splendid engine to pull fine coaches.”

“I’m pretty sure they’re for the electric engine. But maybe they’ll save one or two for you.” Edward took the soap from his partner and ran it slowly across his front. “Then later today, I guess Emily decided to admit her feelings to Caitlin.”

“Oh god,” Even James couldn’t make a joke out of that one. “She knows about Millie, right?”

“She does now.” Edward wasn’t sure if Emily had somehow just never found out, or had simply put it out of her mind in her excitement. “She ended up on the south coast line and cried about it for awhile. I guess one of the new ships sat and talked with her.”

“Well, I’m sure she’ll get over it in time. Emily’s always been a cheery one.”

“Yeah. I do feel a bit bad for her though. That can’t have been a pleasant way of finding out her crush was already committed to someone else.” Edward put down the soap and turned to put his hair under the shower spray, giving his partner a very nice view. 

“Well, enough about Emily.” James leaned forward and captured Edward’s lips in a kiss. The red engine ran both hands down his partner’s body, mapping territory familiar from their time spent in bed as people a couple months before. Until he found something not quite so familiar and pulled back with a slight frown. “Edward, are you getting a bit bigger around the middle?”

“Hmm?” Edward looked down curiously, noticing that his stomach area did seem a little different. Before, he had just been able to see the definition of his muscles below the thick layer of skin. Not quite as thin or muscular as James, but still fit. 

Now, though, there was no sign of his abdominal muscles below the soft curve that had formed. Edward pressed at the bump experimentally, feeling the slight give it had. “Well, that’s odd.”

“Too many chocolate bars?” James suggested, trying to make light of whatever this discovery might mean.

“Must be.” Edward agreed. He knew that when humans ate too much they got bigger. Whether that was possible for him he didn’t know, but that seemed the most likely explanation. 


	8. Chapter 8

It was officially summer on the Island of Sodor, and the railway was buzzing with excitement. Summer meant tourists and an end to the days of gloom and rain that plagued the island’s winter and spring seasons. More passenger runs were on the schedule for every line, keeping the engines pleasantly busy as they rushed about in the bright sunlight. 

Edward’s branch line was also seeing an uptick in goods headed for Misty Island as the construction ramped up its operations with the coming of summer. The electric engine meant for running through the tunnel was still being worked on, so everything was going by barge from Brendam. The new tugboats were very busy indeed as they ferried barges back and forth between the two islands in addition to their duties docking the freighters calling at Brendam Bay. 

The ever-longer hours of sunlight also seemed to be improving Edward’s mood. Though he still felt sick sometimes in the mornings, and was more tired than usual, he no longer felt the need to kneel trackside and heave up his lunch in the middle of the day. James wasn’t nearly as worried about him as he had been, and Edward’s crew seemed to be looking at things more positively as well. 

The SS Roxstar was filling up with vacationers and apparently some kind of steam-enthusiasts convention had booked out all the first-class rooms. The number of passenger trains on the branch line had doubled, and it was common for BoCo and Edward to chuff past each other each pulling coaches in opposite directions. Fortunately, the twins Donald and Douglas had been pulled in to handle the branch line’s goods trains while BoCo and Edward were busy with their passengers. 

Edward stopped at the Brendam platform to drop off passengers, then circled around the docks to the Roxstar so that people staying on the ship wouldn’t have to try and cross the busy dockyard. The porters busied themselves offloading people’s suitcases and luggage while the guests milled about enjoying the nice weather when a loud, distant roar drew everyone’s attention. People on the wharf paused in what they were doing to look to the north when the sound came again, closer this time. 

As a large, black shape rounded the bend to the docks, Edward broke into a smile. “Good morning, Skookum. What brings you to the branch line?”

“Kloshe sun, Edward.” The streamliner steamed to a halt on the track beside Edward, black paint shining in the daylight. “There’s a group of Conventioneers staying here, I guess. The Fat Controller asked me to come down and bring them to Knapford between my runs. Apparently, these folks appreciate streamlining.”

Edward chuckled. “I guess they must. I’ve heard they went out with Kalakala last night.” He looked towards the silver ferry which was moored in front of the Roxstar. After a stint at the shipyard, the once automobile-carrying ferryboat had been converted into a dance hall and event venue for groups that wanted to go cruising in Sudrian waters. 

“Kalakala?” Skookum repeated with a slight frown, following Edward’s gaze to the silver streamlined ship snoozing in the sun. “As in, the Galloping Ghost of the Pacific Coast? The Silver Swan?”

“I guess?” Edward hadn’t heard either nickname, but then he didn’t know very much about the ferry at all. She didn’t seem to be the talkative sort. 

Skookum’s eyes widened, looking over the vessel with new interest. “Klahowya!” They called out, causing the ship to open her eyes with a start. “Maika ‘Kalakala’ kopa Seattle illahee?”

Edward wasn’t sure what this would accomplish, as far as he knew no one else on the island spoke the same language that Skookum did, but to his surprise Kalakala responded.

“Ah-ha. Klaksta maika?” Kalakala mumbled sleepily, taking some time to awaken fully. 

“Naika nem Four Aces, keschi konaway tillikum wawa naika nem Skookum.” The streamlined engine looked as though they were going to blow a safety valve in their excitement. 

“Skookum?” This seemed to bring the ferry to full consciousness, Kalakala realizing that for the first time in almost three months there was someone else speaking Chinook Wawa. 

There was a pause as the two stared at eachother, and then they were off. Edward watched them chat away with an amused smile. Though he didn’t understand a word of their conversation, it was nice to see the two connecting over their shared homeland. 

Conventioneers began to trickle out of the Roxstar, recognizable by the name badges worn around their neck, and paused in surprise at seeing the engine pulling their train chatting away rapidly in a foreign language. Skookum was so busy talking that they didn’t seem to notice the humans boarding their train, nor the sound of the guard’s whistle once everyone was aboard. 

“Skookum.” Edward tried to get the streamliner’s attention as the guard blew their whistle again. “Skookum!”

“Kahta?” Skookum cut themselves off mid-sentence, hearing the impatient whistle for the first time. “Oh, oops. Nawitka alta naika klatawa. Kloshe nanitch, Kalakala. Goodbye, Edward.”

“Bye, Skookum!” Edward watched as the streamlined engine rushed off, then looked over to see the ferry Kalakala actually smiling for the first time he had seen. 

“You are Edward?” Kalakala spoke in English this time, staring at the blue engine curiously. “A friend of Skookum?”

“I am.” Edward confirmed. “I’m glad you two had a chance to meet, Skookum has always been a little sad that no one else on the island knows their language.”

“Yes, it was nice to meet them. Mahsie, Skookum says that you introduced us. And that you are a very kind engine.” 

Edward blushed pink at the compliment. “It was nothing. It’s just nice to see others happy.” Behind him, his own guard’s whistle blew. He had almost forgotten that he was loading passengers as well. “Well, I have to go. I’ll see you later.”

“Goodbye.” 

After that, it seemed that Edward had made yet another new friend. When he came into the docks, Kalakala would always ask him about his day and then tell him about whatever activity was happening in the bay. The dockside engines reported that the ferry was more talkative with them as well, and generally seemed to be a much happier ship. 

“The Fat Controller should appoint Edward the official Sudrian greeting engine.” Sidney chuckled a few days later over lunch. 

Edward ducked his chin, failing to hide his red face behind the sandwich he was eating. “I just like to see people happy.”

“Everyone likes Edward,” James said proudly, putting an arm around his partner’s waist. “He’s just. Infinitely likable.”

Edward gave an embarrassed mumble through the mouthful of sandwich he was chewing. Rick, who was sitting on the other side of the table with the blue engine’s crew, laughed as he opened his lunch box and pulled out a tuna sandwich. 

James wrinkled his nose at the fishy odor from the food, which was really one of the reasons his driver had brought it in the first place. It was always fun to bother James a bit over his irrational hatred of fish. 

What Rick didn’t count on was Edward catching a whiff of the tuna and clapping a hand over his mouth, rushing away from the bench to a nearby trash can to heave up the food he had just eaten. 

“Welp,” Charlie put his lunch down with a sigh and walked over to comfort his engine. “Put fish down on the list of ‘things that make Edward throw up.’”

“Oh god, I’m sorry.” Rick put his sandwich back in the lunchbox, no longer finding it quite as funny as James stood with a panicked expression. “I didn’t realize he was still getting sick.”

“On and off. It’s not as bad as it was for a little while, but sometimes there’ll be a certain smell that sets it off.” Sidney watched as Charlie ran off to find some water while James led Edward over to an unoccupied table to sit down.

Rick sheepishly gathered his lunch and walked over to eat it on the footplate of his engine. 

“You feeling better?” Charlie had located a bottle of water and watched with concern as Edward drained it.

“Yeah.” Edward breathed deep, holding it for a few seconds before exhaling. One hand moved to rub at his sore abdomen, while James stroked his back. 

Charlie took the empty water bottle, brows knitting together with a slight frown as he noticed that Edward’s clothing didn’t quite seem to be fitting around his waist the way they used to. “Hey Edward, could you do me a favor and take off your shirt?”

“Sure?” Edward’s shirt and waistcoat vanished, leaving the blue engine’s torso bare. 

“I told him to cut back on the chocolate.” James explained as the engine driver looked down at the way Edward’s gut had begun to bulge out. 

“I can’t help how good it tastes.” Edward frowned, willing his hands to stay at his sides when they really wanted to wrap around his waist self-consciously. “I can try to stop eating so much, though.”

Charlie frowned a little deeper, before shaking his head and sitting back up straight. “No, that’s fine Edward. Keep eating as much as you want. You can put your shirt back on.”

“Oh, okay.” Edward was a bit confused as to what was bothering his driver, but summoned his clothes back and had James go fetch what remained of his lunch. He had gotten over his nausea for now, it seemed, and was hungry once again. 

 

As the day went on and the engines got back to work, new rumors filtering down through the rolling stock made for a suitable distraction. The current word was that something big was happening for the Sodor Wooden Boat Show and Sailing Regatta later in the summer. It was a festival that was held every year in Arlesburgh, and brought a week or so of increased tourism to the small sea-side town as people came to see the antique boats from all over the UK. 

The discovery of a fully-intact Pirate Ship the previous year during construction of the Arlesburgh-Harwick branch line had apparently inspired those running the boat show to overhaul the festivities for the new year. What exactly that entailed no one was quite sure, but rumors ranged from having the British navy show up with their battleships to the event coordinators having invited real-life pirates. Whatever was happening, it promised to at least be exciting. 

“I hope they really do have real pirates.” Thomas said excitedly to Percy that evening at Tidmouth sheds as all the engines settled down for the night. 

“That would be so cool!” Percy shot back with equal enthusiasm. 

Edward laughed softly and shook his head at their happy voices as he stood on the floor of the sheds and stretched out the sore spots from the day. As he leaned back and tried to work out a kink in his back, his stomach gave a particularly loud grumble. Loud enough for his crew to hear, apparently, as Charlie leaned out of the cab at the sound and looked down at the blue engine with amusement.

“Hungry?” Charlie asked, climbed down as well and peeling off his uniform jacket. 

“I guess.” Even Edward was a bit surprised as he pressed a hand to his middle. 

“Well, you did throw up half your lunch.” Sidney set down his shovel and wiped a rag across his sooty face. “Maybe we should take you out to eat somewhere.”

“The pub?” Edward suggested, not knowing of any place else near the tracks that served food. He and James, along with Henry and Gordon, occasionally visited a nearby gay bar called The Cuff. Always in the company of driver Sam, since none of them had the desire to go alone. Interacting with humans without the safe buffer of one of the engine drivers was always a bit of a risky game. 

“Did I hear someone suggest going out for drinks?” Sam poked his head around the corner, sharp ears never missing a suggestion to hit up the pub. 

“Uh, well.” Charlie and Sidney glanced at eachother, knowing just what pub was being talked about here. “We won’t get kicked out for being straight, right?”

“Of course not.” Sam laughed, “But you might get mistaken for a gay couple.”

Deciding that this wasn’t the absolute worst possible thing, and admittedly a bit curious to see the bar that the engines were always hanging out at, Sidney and Charlie agreed to accompany the group to The Cuff. Gordon and Henry tagged along as well, as was usual. And, to everyone’s surprise, Emily and her driver Dennis decided to come. The Stirling Single was still feeling a bit glum, and it was Dennis’ hope that a trip out might cheer her up. 

The Cuff was just as brightly light and loud as it always was, music bringing couples out onto the floor to dance while the booths around the edges of the bar were full of friends laughing and talking after a hard day’s work. 

Sam claimed a large booth for himself and the engines, while Charlie and Sam chose to sit at the next booth over. Dennis, assured that Emily was well looked after, disappeared somewhere off into the bar to mingle. 

“So. . .” Sidney sipped at the beer he had ordered, looking over at Charlie with a raised eyebrow. “I assume you brought me to a gay bar for more than just a beer and to watch Edward eat cheeseburgers?”

Charlie glanced behind him, where he could indeed see Edward digging into a large cheeseburger while the others at the table talked. The bar was too loud to actually hear their conversation, though, which suited Charlie just fine. He didn’t particularly want to be overheard either. “Admittedly, I really needed the beer. I think I might know what’s up with Edward.”

“Yeah?” Sidney leaned forward with interest, lowering his voice. “What is it?”

“Well. . .” Charlie played with the empty beer glass in his hands, unsure of just how to voice his suspicions. “Okay, let’s look at his symptoms. Edward is unusually tired, and more emotional than normal. He feels sick in the mornings, is sensitive to smell, has chocolate cravings. And now, he’s gaining weight. But only right around the middle. Does this remind you of anything?”

Sidney was silent, frowning at his drink as his brain slowly knitted together the clues. 

“Come on, I know you have kids.” Charlie prompted. 

“Wait.” Sidney’s eyes widened at what his friend was implying. “Are you trying to say that Edward is pregnant? But he’s a guy. And a steam engine. . .and a guy!”

“He isn’t human, but he was for a little while. Who knows what that does to a body? And besides, I’ve seen Edward naked. He doesn’t have a . . . well, you know,” Charlie stuck out his thumb for emphasis. 

“You mean he’s got a hole instead of a pole?” 

“Thank you for that crude but accurate assessment.” Charlie deadpanned. “But yes. I didn’t get a good look, but whatever he has it isn’t a dick. And we know he had sex.”

The cogs in Sidney’s brain worked as his brain moved in a different direction. “Wait, does this mean Edward’s a girl?”

That hadn’t really occurred to Charlie, but he grimaced at the thought. “No? I mean, he’s Edward.”

“Yeah, but. If he’s pregnant. Only girls get pregnant!” Sidney was severally weirded out by all this. 

“Well, obviously not. I mean, Edward isn’t human, right? Technically he isn’t really a girl or a guy, he’s a steam engine.” Charlie shook his head, pausing this train of thought before he got sucked too deeply into the discussion. “Look, this doesn’t really matter right now anyway. What we need to do is get Edward to a doctor and see if I’m right.”

“And if you are? There are more things that can cause a person to feel sick and gain weight than pregnancy.” 

“Well, I guess we’ll have to deal with that then.” Charlie honestly wasn’t sure what they’d do. Turning to look back at Edward, who had finished his burger and was now picking at his fries. With some concern, he saw that someone appeared to have ordered Edward a pint. 

Quickly, Charlie got out of his booth and swiped the beer before the engine could take a drink. “Whoa, maybe you should steer clear of alcohol. We don’t know what it could do.”

“Oh, uh. Okay.” Edward shrugged and went for the glass of water instead. 

 

The next day, during his lunch break, Charlie left Edward with Sidney and steeled himself to meet with the Fat Controller. After all, if Edward really was pregnant Sir Topham had to know. It was always a bit strange to remember, but he did own all the engines and have full say over their lives. 

Charlie had worked for the Northwestern Railway for many years, but he still always felt that moment of nervousness when he knocked on the door to the Fat Controller’s office. Slipping inside, the engine driver sat down in the guest chair in front of the desk and respectfully removed his hat. 

“Hello, Charlie.” Sir Topham put aside the scheduling he was working on to give his employee his full attention. “How is Edward doing?”

“He’s okay. Well, actually, that’s why I’m here.” Charlie fiddled with his hat nervously. When had his job gotten so weird? “I have a suspicion I know what’s wrong with him. It sounds kind of crazy, but after watching him for a few months I think it’s at least plausible. I think Edward might be pregnant.”

To his credit, Sir Topham didn’t laugh or throw him out of the office. Instead, he just folded his hands and raised an eyebrow skeptically. “You really believe this?”

Charlie straightened up in his chair and met his boss’ eyes. “Yes, I do. And I would like permission to take him to a doctor to have him checked out. Even if I’m not right, he’s still getting sick and acting oddly. There’s nothing wrong with his engine body, so whatever is keeping him stuck must be due to his human form.”

“And I agree.” Sir Topham nodded, surprising the engine driver. “I’m just not sure about finding someone. There aren’t many clinics or hospitals close to the railroad tracks. And I’m sure you can understand I’d prefer something like this not get spread.”

“Of course. And, if I may make a suggestion. I’d like to call in my daughter.” Charlie had been thinking about the problem of finding Edward a discreet doctor even before he’d had his suspicions about just what was going on. “Alicia just graduated from medical school last year, but she’s very bright and has been hoping to come back to Sodor to start work at one of the local hospitals.”

“And she can keep it secret?” It was as good an option as any. Sir Topham scribbled something on the notepad on his desk. “Let me look into finding a place where we could do a check up. I think the Hatt family doctor might be persuaded into giving up some space in his clinic. When can Alicia be here?”

“As soon as tomorrow, sir.” Charlie stood, settling his hat back onto his head. “Well, I should get back to work. Thank you, sir. I’ll put Alicia into contact with you as soon as she arrives.”

“And I will call you as soon as I have a good time for Edward to get checked out. Until then, look after him, won’t you?” Sir Topham was genuinely worried for his engine, and wished for some kind of answer. Even though he rather hoped that Charlie wasn’t right. 

 

Outside the station, Sidney and Edward were busy having lunch near the Knapford yards. James had joined them too at some point, happily providing a couple chocolate bars to his partner. Charlie smiled at the sight as he joined them. 

“Did your meeting go alright, driver?” Edward looked up from his conversation, closing the lid to his now empty lunchbox. “What did you need to talk to the Fat Controller about?”

“It went fine.” Charlie sat down on the bench next to Sidney, giving the fireman a discreet nod. He didn’t want to say anything about his suspicions to Edward and James until they had a chance to get a professional to take a look; there was no need to cause panic if this turned out to be nothing in the end. “I just wanted to talk to Sir Topham about getting you to see a doctor. Just to make sure things are okay. I know you haven’t been feeling very good lately.”

“It’s not that bad.” Edward insisted, not wanting anyone to worry about him. “Certainly not like a few weeks ago.”

“Still. . . Better to be safe than sorry.” Charlie took Edward’s empty lunchbox, putting it with his stuff so that he could pack a new lunch the next morning. “Did you like the lunch? I wanted to try something new.” And by new, he meant healthier recipes that he had collected back when his wife was pregnant. Just in case. It couldn’t be good for Edward to live off of ham sandwiches and chocolate anyway. 

“Yes, it was very good, Driver.” Edward said politely, giving his full belly a pat. This only caused Sidney to stare at him, making James glare and wrap arms around his partner. The fireman had been having a very hard time acting normally all day. Anytime he looked at Edward he was reminded of the conversation he and Charlie had the night before, inevitably drawing his eyes to the blue engine’s midsection. 

“Good, I’ll make more tomorrow.” Charlie elbowed Sidney sharply. “I brought you a little extra so you can have dinner too. It isn’t healthy to only eat once a day.”

“Oh, okay. Thank you.” Edward stood, brushing a few crumbs from his trousers. “Time to take the early afternoon passenger run. I’ll see you tonight, James.”

“Bye, Edward.” James gave his partner a kiss on a cheek before vanishing back to his own body. Edward, meanwhile, had to take the long way and started walking back to where his body was sitting on a siding. 

Sidney watched him go for a moment before quickly grabbing his stuff and hurrying after Edward, “Hang on, let me give you a hand!”

Charlie shook his head and followed slowly after. Who knew Sidney could be such a Mother Hen? Hopefully, soon they would get some answers about what was really going on. He just had to get home and give his daughter a call. She’d be able to tell them if Edward was just sick, or if this was something more complicated. And if Charlie was right, well, they’d have to deal with that then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh, looks like Edward's crew is starting to figure things out. 
> 
> Also, interesting fact I discovered today. Apparently, there was pressure on Britt Allcroft to re-name Edward "Alice" when making the Thomas TV series. I guess Edward nearly became a girl. Who knew?
> 
>  
> 
> Finally, a translation of Skookum and Kalakala's lines (which admittedly was just shameless self-indulgence. I've been wanting to write that scene for months.)
> 
> Skookum: "Hello! Are you Kalakala of Seattle?"
> 
> Kalakala: "Yes? Who are you?"
> 
> Skookum: "My name is Four Aces, but everyone calls me Skookum."
> 
> . . . . .  
> Skookum: "What? Oh, oops. It's time for me to go. Take care, Kalakala"


	9. Chapter 9

Alicia Sand clutched her suitcase tightly as she stepped out onto the train platform at Barrow-in-Furness. It had been several years since she had made a trip out to Sodor, but some things never changed. Trains bound for Sodor called at the southern-most platform, easily found by virtue of the billowing steam and hoot of whistles. It was such a contrast to the modern train that had brought her to Barrow. 

At the Sodor platform, Alicia was surprised to see not the big blue form of Gordon, but a black streamlined engine instead. Okay, so apparently a few things had changed. 

“Well, then. You aren’t Gordon.” Alicia walked around to the front of the engine, who looked down at her curiously. “Is this still the express for Sodor?”

“No, I’m Skookum.” The streamliner was amused to have a strange human strike up a conversation with them. “If you want Gordon’s express, the Wild Nor’wester, he’ll be here in half an hour. This is the Northwest Limited. Where are you trying to get?”

“Two expresses? Wow.” At least that presumably meant that the Northwestern Railway was doing well. “I’m headed for Knapford to meet with Sir Topham Hatt.”

“Then this is the train you want, I’m the express for Knapford.” Skookum smiled. “Welcome aboard.”

“Thank you.” Alicia boarded the first coach and put her suitcase on the overhead rack. Soon, she would be back home. 

 

The trip across the island went faster than she remembered, and in no time at all it seemed she had arrived at Knapford Station. Alicia thanked the engine that had brought her, then lugged her suitcase over to the door labeled “Office” and gave it a knock. 

“Come in.” Sir Topham Hatt was just as she remembered, with that yellow waistcoat and long tailcoat. 

“Good afternoon, sir.” Alicia shook his hand before having a seat in the guest chair. “My father said that there was something you wanted to see me about?”

 

“Yes, thank you for coming.” Sir Topham could vividly remember meeting the woman in front of him when she was just a little girl; it was nice to see how she had grown up. “We’ve been having trouble with one of the engines and I’m hoping you’ll be able to help.”

“One of the. . . engines sir?” Alicia repeated, rather confused. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to help. I have a medical degree, I’m no good with mechanical stuff.”

“Perhaps I should explain.” Sir Topham took a moment to organize his thoughts. He’d never really had to explain the recent strangeness to someone who hadn’t experienced it firsthand. “A little over three months ago, there was an incident where all of the engines were turned into humans. They all turned back a week and a half later, except one. And now he’s been getting sick. We’re hoping that you can help us figure out what’s wrong.”

“Uh.” Whatever Alicia had expected, that wasn’t it. “So, one of the engines is now a human. And he’s sick. And you want me to give him a check up, because . .. you don’t trust any of the doctors already on Sodor?”

“We would like to keep this kind of thing private. I’m sure you saw what happened when the Northwestern Railway ended up in the news two years ago.”

Alicia did indeed remember seeing some newspaper kerfluffle, though she had been a little busy with her finals at the time. “Wait, the whole thing about the engines being gay? I thought that was a joke.”

“Unfortunately not.” Sir Topham managed a tight smile. Though things had eventually turned out alright, he really didn’t want a repeat of the incident. “Now, there is a clinic here in Knapford that the Hatt family has used for years. I can set you up there with a fair amount of privacy and any equipment you need. Do you have an idea of when you could be ready?”

“Oh, wow.” This was all moving rather quickly. Alicia clutched the handle of her suitcase, determined not to look like the frightened little University student she still sometimes felt like. “I’d like to get my stuff dropped off at my parent’s place and get settled in. Otherwise, I guess we could set up something for tomorrow? I don’t have anything planned through the end of the week, so whenever’s good for you.”

“Tomorrow would work fine. I’ll set it up for their lunch break, so noon?” Sir Topham was already writing out a notice in his planner. 

“Sure.” Alicia pulled out her own schedule planner and wrote down the appointment time, adding in a note to pick up the latest version of the Northwestern Railway timetables. “By the way, which engine is it that I’ll be seeing?”

“Actually, it’s the engine your father drives. Edward.”

“Edward?” Alicia had fond memories of the old engine, who had been possibly the coolest thing ever to a ten year old. She hadn’t seen him in several years, though, and hoped he was okay. 

 

Later that day, Alicia made her way to Tidmouth and gave her mother a pleasant surprise by arriving in time for dinner. Charlie arrived a little while later and was overjoyed to see his daughter again.

“Hey, dad.” Alicia smiled and embraced her father tightly. 

“Alicia!” Charlie laughed and returned the hug. “When did you get to the island?”

“Earlier today. I had a meeting with the Fat Controller. He said that Edward is having trouble?” Alicia and Charlie moved onto the couch in the living room. “What’s up?”

“Well,” Charlie rubbed the back of his neck. It had been much easier to explain to Sidney, who had seen all the symptoms Edward was having. “Okay, I guess you should know before you see him tomorrow. He’s been sick for over two months now. It’s worst in the morning when he gets up. But he’s also really sensitive to smells. Diesel smoke, fish, things like that usually end in having him heaving up his lunch.”

“Okay.” Alicia pulled out a small notebook and started writing things down. “Anything else?”

“Edward is also more emotional than normal. Cries a lot easier, mostly.” Just the other day, Edward had teared up at the sight of a mother duck leading her ducklings across the railroad tracks. “He’s been complaining a bit of back and hip pain. Sleeps a lot more than he used to and is tired all the time. And, Edward’s been putting on some pounds. Just right here.” Charlie patted his abdomen for emphasis.

“And, that’s it?” Alicia looked up from his notebook, already mentally going over some various possibilities. 

“What I know about, at least. Edward is very good at hiding things when he’s having trouble.” Which Charlie knew stemmed from Edward’s fear of being sold or scrapped if he wasn’t able to work, but it was frustrating sometimes. “I do have my own theory. It’s a bit . . . out there. But, I think maybe he might be pregnant.”

Alicia snorted, but stopped upon realizing just how serious her dad was. “Wait, really? I mean, I know that these symptoms could point to that. But, Dad, you know, there are a few parts that are required to be pregnant. And certain activities.”

“Edward does have a romantic partner. And, perhaps not our brightest moment, but we did give them a bit of a sex ed lesson when they turned human.” Charlie was starting to regret that little escapade, even if the engines had enjoyed it. “From what I’ve seen of Edward I also know that he doesn’t have a . . . well, a penis.” 

This was an extremely awkward conversation to have with one’s father, but Alicia was determined to be professional. “Okay, good to know. I’ll keep that in mind. Have you had him take any kind of test?”

“What, like one of those new drugstore tests?” Charlie had given it a thought, but there was one problem. “See, here’s the thing. Edward is mostly but not quite human. He doesn’t actually have to use the bathroom ever. And we can’t exactly do a blood test without a doctor.”

“I see. Well, I can’t do a blood test either without sending the results off to a lab. I guess the best thing to do at this point would be an ultrasound.” Which was expensive equipment that Alicia wasn’t entirely certain she could get her hands on. 

“I’ll call the Fat Controller and tell him.” Charlie stood and stretched his back, sore after a day of standing at the controls of Edward’s cab. “And after that, I’m off to bed. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow during lunch break?”

“Yep. What’s the best way to get to Knapford?”

“Well, if you leave here around ten-thirty or so.” Charlie riffled through his mental catalogue of all the train schedules. There had been so many service changes lately it was getting a little hard to keep track. “You should be able to catch either James or Emily with a local headed that way. Pretty much anything leaving Tidmouth stops at Knapford, so it shouldn’t be too hard.”

“Thanks dad, goodnight.” Alicia gave her dad a kiss on the cheek and tried not to think too hard about what she would be doing the next day. 

 

Edward was undeniably nervous as he went about his duties that morning. He had already thrown up once and gotten a late start to the day, forcing his crew to call in Donald to take his morning passenger train. He would be going to see a human doctor after lunch, because his crew thought something was seriously wrong with him. What if there was? What if it was something so serious he couldn’t work any longer?

“Come on, Edward. It’ll be fine.” No matter how hard Edward tried to hide his worries, his driver could pick up on it. “My daughter is very nice, she’ll take good care of you.”

Despite knowing this, Edward had no appetite for lunch and simply sat and watched his crew eat. James talked enough for both of them; his own way of hiding his concern as the human crews quickly finished their food. The red engine had been invited along to the appointment, mostly because everyone knew that James would be too distracted to work if he didn’t come, but also because there was a good chance James had partial responsibility for what was affecting his partner. 

“Ready to go, Edward?” Charlie took away the engine’s untouched lunch, placing it with the remains of his own for later. 

“As I’ll ever be.” Edward had a calm expression fixed on his face as he followed his driver towards the platform at Knapford station. James found his hand and clutched it tightly, which helped a little bit. 

Sir Topham met them at the platform, smiling reassuringly at the two engines. Edward shakily returned it, reminding himself that he hadn’t been scrapped even after the worst of breakdowns or accidents and that Sir Topham wouldn’t send him away over whatever happened today. At least, so he hoped. 

It was about a ten block walk before they arrived at the unassuming brown building that housed the doctor’s clinic. Rather than go in the front door, Sir Topham led them around to a back entrance to an unoccupied examination room. 

They only waited for a moment or two before the door opened and Alicia stepped inside. She had changed into a clean white uniform, wanting to appear professional, and looked between the four men curiously. 

“Hi, you must be Edward.” Alicia vaguely recognized the engine from when she had met him years before, though he was much smaller now. “I’m Alicia. You probably don’t remember me.”

“You’re Driver’s daughter, of course I remember you.” Though the years sometimes blended together, Edward did have a few clear memories of a little girl playing on his footplate on summer evenings. 

“Grand.” Alicia’s smile became more genuine, relaxing at the knowledge that she wasn’t with a total stranger. “And who is this?” She asked, gesturing at James.

“James, the splendid red engine.” He wrapped an arm possessively around Edward’s waist. “And Edward’s partner.”

“I’ll make sure to take good care of him.” Alicia promised, gently tugging Edward to his feet. “If I could have you sit over on this table, we can get started. Are you okay with everyone being here, or would you prefer them to leave the room?”

“No, it’s alright.” Edward sat down on the padded table with its odd, crinkly paper covering. “I don’t mind.”

“Actually,” Sir Topham coughed slightly, not particularly interested in seeing one of his engines unclothed. “I have some work to get done. Let me know how it goes.”

And with that he slipped out, leaving just Charlie and James in the guest chairs. 

“Okay. First, I’d like to fill out some basic information.” Alicia pulled out a clipboard with a simple medical chart on it, the name “EDWARD” written in bold at the top. “How old are you, Edward?”

“Let’s see, this year I turned,” Edward had to tip his head back and think about it for a moment. “Eighty. I was built in 1896.”

“Eighty?!” The exclamation escaped before Alicia could suppress her surprise. She wouldn’t have pegged the engine as being any older than his mid-40’s or so, if that. Certainly not older than her father! “I mean, you certainly don’t look that old.”

“We have a theory that the engine’s physical age doesn’t necessarily affect how old they look as humans.” Charlie supplied, “I mean, Thomas is sixty but doesn’t look a day over eighteen.”

“Alright, then.” Alicia wrote down the birthdate dutifully. Clearly, this wasn’t going to be a normal check up. There probably wasn’t any point in asking about his medical history, so it was time to cut to the chase. “So, when did you start having symptoms?”

“About, three months ago? It was a couple weeks after everyone else turned back.” 

“And my father says you’ve had stomach pain and vomiting. Nausea. Hip and back pain, mood swings, food cravings, excessive tiredness, and weight gain.” Alicia was looked at her notebook now. “Does that about cover it?”

“Yes,” Edward looked down at his hands, not wanting to look over and see the expression of worry he knew James would have on his face. 

“Alright.” They continued on with the basics. Temperature and heartbeat didn’t turn up anything particularly unusual. Breathing sounded normal, if a bit fast. Though that could just be due to stress. In general, Edward seemed to be in pretty good health. Much better than she would anticipate for someone of his age, or even apparent age. 

Soon, Alicia had run out of things to check and it was time to look a little deeper into her father’s suspicions. “Okay, Edward. If I could have you take off your shirt and lie back.”

Obligingly, Edward vanished his shirt and waistcoat before reclining back against the padded table. Alicia was visibly startled by the little disappearing act, but recovered quickly. Examining Edward’s newly revealed torso was much more interesting. 

The blue engine’s body was much more fit than she had initially expected, appearing to belong to someone much younger than she knew him to be. “I see you must be kept in very good repair.” She complimented.

“The Steamworks keeps me in very good shape.” Edward noted, proud that he was still able to work as well as any of the younger engines. It was a far cry from fifty years ago, when he had been in danger of having parts fall off at any exertion. 

“I guess. Now, I’m going to use my hands to feel your abdomen. Let me know if you’re uncomfortable.” Alicia pressed her hands against the bulge of his midsection, pressing lightly and trying to remember her lessons from school. So far, her father’s crazy idea seemed to be holding firm. 

Edward, who was used to having humans poke about his body and innards, was relatively unbothered. Even when Alicia told him he could put his shirt back on and to take his trousers off instead. 

The table had stirrups, which Edward placed his ankles in while Alicia bent down between his legs. 

“Well, this is. . . unusual.” Alicia muttered with a frown. She had admittedly never seen a vagina on a man before, but even then this one looked a bit odd. 

“What?” Edward attempted to sit up, but couldn’t get at an angle to see whatever it was she was. 

“Nothing bad, don’t worry. Sometimes, people are born with, well we would call it ‘ambiguous genitalia.’ If you were human, you probably would’ve had this corrected by surgery.” Alicia stood back up and let Edward put his trousers back on. “But, as long as it’s functional and doesn’t bother you any I don’t see any reason to do anything about it.”

“Oh, it functions just fine.” James put in from the sidelines, a smirk on his face. Beside him, Charlie covered his mouth to hide his laughter. 

“I guess that answers the question of whether you’ve been having sex.” Alicia muttered. There was just one more thing to check. Against the wall was a bulky piece of equipment she had only seen a few times before. An ultrasound machine. “Okay, there is one more thing I’d like to do. You don’t need to take off your shirt, just lift it up.”

Edward obliged, watching curiously when some kind of gel was smeared across his belly. Alicia then pressed a wand against his skin, moving it around a bit while her eyes watched the screen.

“This is an ultrasound machine,” She explained, watching as the machine displayed blurry grey shapes. “It uses sound waves to look inside your body so we can see what’s going on.”

“They use the same thing at the Steamworks to check the thickness of our metal.” It was usually used after boiler repair, to make sure there weren’t any thin spots or weak welds. What this screen was displaying didn’t resemble anything Edward had seen during metalwork, though.

“Oh, right. I guess they do.” Alicia had forgotten that ultrasound technology had uses beyond the medical. She continued manipulating the wand until something very interesting appeared on the screen. “Oh, oh my.”

“What is it?” Everyone else in the room looked at the screen with interest. 

“It appears you deserve congratulations, Edward.” Alicia smiled at the engine, not quite believing what she was seeing. “What we have here appears to be a perfectly healthy fetus, around 15 weeks or so old.”

“Um, pardon me?” Edward didn’t quite get what she was saying. 

“A baby.” Alicia clarified. “See, there’s the head there. Look, you can even make out the little nose and mouth. And there’s the legs and the arms.”

Now that she pointed it out, Edward could in fact see what resembled a tiny human baby. It was fuzzy, and a bit indistinct, but the real question was what was it doing inside him? “What? But, how?”

Alicia turned off the machine and handed Edward a towel so he could wipe the gel off. “Do you . . . know how babies are made?”

“A . . . a little bit?” Edward looked over at James, who was staring at him with shock. “But, inside me?”

Alicia pulled a stool over and had a seat. “I think we need to have a little talk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate having to make up OC's, but there is a distinct lack of developed human characters in the Thomas universe. :Y
> 
> Anyway, the cat is officially out of the bag!


	10. Chapter 10

It took over an hour for Alicia to share everything she knew about reproduction and pregnancy with Edward and James. Charlie left early on to hit up the nearby library and grab a few books on the subject for them to read later after everything had a chance to sink in. This was a pretty big announcement, and the engine driver didn’t expect them to retain everything from the talk. 

To their credit, the two engines listened fairly calmly with only the occasional question for clarification. This was probably because the two were actually too terrified of this new situation to speak too much, but Alicia would take what she could get. 

Edward was feeling rather overwhelmed by everything, clutching James’ hand so tightly the red engine would probably be complaining had he been human. Slowly, the reality of the situation began to sink in. He was pregnant, with a human baby. Alicia had shown him photos in little pamphlets, of how he could continue to grow larger and have to stop working as the baby demanded more of his energy. 

“Now, I don’t want to call this a high-risk pregnancy. So far, things appear to have been going well.” Alicia set down the pamphlets, deciding to end the appointment for now. So long as Edward didn’t do anything drastic there was no reason they couldn’t continue next week. “But, we do have to consider your age. You appear to be quite healthy, but you are past the average child-bearing age for most first-time, uh, mothers. I’d like to have you visit at least once a week so I can check up on you and the baby.”

“You mean, there could be problems because I’m too old?” That was not something Edward liked to hear. He got enough flak about his age from the other engines. 

“I certainly hope not, but I can’t discount the possibility.” Alicia gave him a reassuring smile. “You’ve gotten through the first trimester without difficulty; I’m hoping that this will continue to be true through the next two.”

“And I think that’s enough for the day.” Charlie had been standing outside listening, and decided it was time to step in. “This is a lot of take in, I know. I’ve already called the Fat Controller and both of you have the rest of the day off. I think it’s time to take you two to have a nice wash down and then you can relax back at the sheds. Then you can ask me anything you want.”

“I could do for a wash down.” James managed. The red engine seemed unusually tired as he pressed a hand to his head. “For now, I think I need to. . .” He suddenly flickered and vanished.

Alicia stared at where he had been, surprised by his disappearing act. “Is he okay?”

“Yes.” Edward sighed, also tired but unable to copy James. “Normally human forms are only good for an hour or so. It’s very tiring to keep up. Unless you’re carrying a baby, apparently.”

“Well, I’m sure the walk will do you good. James is waiting back at Knapford Yard for you.” Charlie linked arms with his engine. “Thank you, Alicia. I’ll see you tonight.”

As the two walked through the streets of Knapford, Charlie could easily see the distress on Edward’s face. The fact that the engine wasn’t trying to hide it signified that something was really bothering him. Not that Charlie blamed him one bit. 

“You can talk to me, if you want.” Charlie offered, hoping the engine would take him up on the suggestion. It wasn’t any good to bottle things up inside, no matter how much one wanted to.

“What am I going to do, Driver?” Edward had one hand pressed to his abdomen, overwhelmed by the knowledge of what was currently growing in his body. 

“Right now? You’re going to enjoy your day off and relax while me and the cleaners give you a full detailing.” Charlie was determined to be positive. Edward would discover the shittier parts of pregnancy soon enough, “For the next few months? You’re going to sit back and let everyone take care of you. Days off whenever you want, and I bet you can get James to wait on you hand and foot. Nothing stressful for you, no hard work or heavy trains.”

“I like work.” Edward wasn’t entirely sure that enforced time off sounded like a good time. “The- the Fat Controller won’t force me to stay in the sheds, will he?”

Charlie mentally kicked himself. He knew Edward still had bad memories of his early days on the Northwestern, when he had been designated a reserve engine and locked up in the shed for months while the other engines teased him. “It won’t be like that, Edward. Nobody is forcing you to do anything, but you won’t be able to keep working like normal. Pregnancy is hard work all on its own. The baby is your passenger, and sometimes you have to think about what’s best for it. That usually means rest and relaxation.”

Putting it like that made it a little easier for Edward to understand. Engines were made to serve their passengers, to make sure that they arrived at their destination in a safe and timely manner no matter what. He would just have to think of this baby like a passenger that was always with him. “And then, what happens when it’s born?”

That was the part that Charlie hadn’t quite figured out yet. This wasn’t exactly like most unplanned pregnancies. Edward didn’t have a home or income. He had absolutely no experience with children or babies. And he was owned, body and soul, by Sir Topham Hatt. On top of that, assuming Edward went back to normal afterwards, he would only be able to become human for maybe an hour or so at a time. “Well, Edward. A lot of that depends on you. Do you have any idea of what you want to do?”

“I’m not sure.” Edward, like all engines, had a fondness for children. But children at a safe distance, waving from the trackside or enjoying a trip in the coaches. Well behaved children that didn’t pull the emergency brake chord or scratch rude messages into the seats. But no engine liked babies. Seeing a pram waiting on the platform usually meant a trip full of crying, screaming, and bad smells. “I can’t exactly keep a baby in Tidmouth sheds. I’m gone all day, we all are. I don’t know anything about taking care of children. The baby deserves someone. .. human.”

“There is nothing wrong with that.” Charlie patted Edward’s shoulder reassuringly. “I’ll ask the Fat Controller tomorrow about it. I’m sure there’s a couple on the island who would love to raise a baby. We can try to find someone connected to the railway, you could see the kid whenever you wanted.”

“I’d like that.” Edward sighed. “Alicia suggested that I could. . . get rid of it. Stop being pregnant. But I couldn’t do that. I can’t hurt a human like that, even one not born yet.”

“It’s alright, Edward. Remember, you aren’t doing this alone. You’ve got me, Sidney, James and his crew, and all of your other friends on the railway.” Charlie knew that the Fat Controller wanted this kept fairly private, but thought that Edward at least deserved the right to choose who he told. 

“Thank you, Driver.”

“Of course, Edward.” Charlie was distinctly reminded of last year when his eldest son had called him in a panic. He’d gotten his girlfriend pregnant and was going through the kind of scare any first-time prospective parent had. This situation had some obvious differences, but Charlie was still ready to be there for whatever his engine needed.

 

A good, long wash down and detailing did help both James and Edward feel better, and by the time they had returned to Tidmouth Sheds James had enough energy to use his human form again. 

With none of the other engines back yet, things were pleasantly quiet in the old breakroom that had been turned into Edward’s temporary quarters. The blue engine had changed into sleep clothes and was reclined on his bed, shirt hiked up to his chest so that James could lay a hand on the bare skin of his abdomen. 

“James?” Edward rested his hand over his partner’s, “Are you . . . taking this okay?”

“I’m sorry.” James mumbled, chin pressed into the crook of Edward’s neck. He was curled into his partner’s side, and had been uncharacteristically silent up until that point. 

“For what?” Edward raised his head to look at his partner with confusion. James, for all his usual bluster and bragging, occasionally had these bouts of terribly low self-esteem and liked to blame himself for anything that happened to his partner. 

“This is my fault, isn’t it?” James gently rubbed the bulge of Edward’s belly. “I mean, I was the one who wanted to try being together like humans.”

“Of course it isn’t your fault, James.” Edward shifted so that he could cup his partner’s cheek, looking sternly into the other engine’s eyes. “Did you ever see me resisting? I enjoyed it as much as you did. Even now that I know that this was the result. And. I might ask you to try it again sometime.”

“Wait, really?” James certainly hadn’t expected that. “Do you think that it will still work the same? With me like this?”

“We won’t know unless we try.” Edward shrugged, running a hand through James’ short hair. “But, not tonight. I’m too tired.”

“Well then sleep.” James adjusted himself to a more comfortable position and pulled the covers up over them both. “I’ll try to be here when you wake up.”

James waited until Edward’s breathing slowed and he seemed truly asleep, then vanished back to his body to get some rest of his own. 

 

The next day at Tidmouth Sheds, the Fat Controller surprised everyone by arriving quite early before any of the engines even had steam up. He quickly gave everyone their usual assignments, before gesturing to James and Edward to follow him out of the shed so he could speak to them privately. 

“I’m sorry, sir.” Edward offered before his owner could say anything. “I will take any punishment you have.”

“Edward, you aren’t in trouble. Neither of you are.” Sir Topham smiled a little sadly at how quickly his engines believed he was willing to discipline them. “I’m not going to punish you for getting pregnant. But things are going to have to change for a few months. I will be reducing your workload, passengers only and no goods starting today. James, I’ll need you to take some of Edward’s goods trains.”

“But-“ James exchanged a glance with his partner and sighed. “Yes sir.”

“And Edward, please, if you need a day off or to stop and rest, just tell me.” Sir Topham rather doubted the blue engine would actually take him up on that, but knew that Edward’s crew would be keeping a close eye on him. “I’m also looking for railway employees who are interested in adopting a baby. I’ll make sure you get to interview and okay them before making any decisions.”

“Thank you, sir.”

As Sir Topham walked away, James looked at his partner curiously. “Adopting a baby?”

“Well, yes.” Edward had been thinking about it since the previous day, and still came to the same conclusion. “You and I aren’t equipped to raise a human child. The baby deserves to be raised by real people.”

“I agree.” James nodded, almost relieved. He could handle babies for small amounts of time, but the minute they started making noise or fussing he was at a loss. “I mean, if you think it’s best. But I don’t know anything about babies.”

“We’ll still be able to see them whenever we want.” Edward rested a hand on his middle. “And whoever raises them will take care of them the way we can’t.”

James really didn’t have anything helpful to add, so he just lay a hand on his partner’s shoulder. The two stood in silence for a few moments until Edward’s driver poked his head around the corner of the shed. 

“Hey you two. Ready to get to work?” Charlie didn’t want to interrupt, but there were trains to pull that day. 

Edward nodded and returned to his engine body, climbing up into his cab and strapping his human self into the seat there before transferring to his true self. As he pulled out of the shed and headed for Wellsworth, things were a little surreal. It seemed like everything had changed, yet on the same hand nothing had. Edward still coupled up to his normal run of coaches for the morning passenger run from Wellsworth to Brendam, and knew that BoCo was at the other end of the branch line with his own train headed the opposite way. 

There were tourists taking the train, but mostly it was the usual commuters who rode every day. Several greeted Edward with smiles and a kind “Good morning, Edward” as they boarded the coaches. Just like every weekday morning in the summer. 

The familiar activity of running his branch line turned out to be the best way of taking Edward’s mind off of things. When he was running along the rails with his coaches there could be no worrying about the future. By the time lunch break rolled around, Edward was feeling much calmer and more in control of things. 

“I got your lunch, Edward.” Charlie pulled out a pair of lunchboxes, his own plain grey one and the engine’s much more colorful cartoon one. They had found a nice place to sit out of the sun on the edge of the goods yard at Wellsworth, with a good view of the bustling activity of the yard. 

“Thank you, driver.” Edward chewed away at his food and watched as engines came and went, picking up and dropping off various trains headed for the far reaches of the island. Many of them gave a whistled greeting, which Edward returned with a wave of his hand. None had the time to sit and chat, however, until the blare of an air horn announced the arrival of BoCo. 

“Afternoon, Edward.” The diesel greeted as he came to a stop near his friend. BoCo frowned a bit as he noticed the blue engine eating, an usual activity for an engine. He had heard out about his friend’s human body being stuck, but had assumed a solution had been found by now. “Still having human troubles?”

Edward laughed lightly and shook his head. “You don’t know the half of it, BoCo.” 

“Need a friendly ear to listen?” BoCo offered, using his human form to get closer and have a seat in the grass by the blue engine. 

Well, Edward supposed he would have to tell the other engines sooner or later. Before things became too obvious. Might as well start with his good friend. “This is going to sound weird, but. I’m having a baby.”

BoCo stared at the other engine wide-eyed. “What. What are you saying? How-“

“When we were human, James and I, well-“ Edward blushed and cut himself off. BoCo could fill in the blanks. “And, I guess I became pregnant. That’s why my human form is still around and won’t go away. Because of the baby.”

“Wow.” BoCo breathed, eyes drawn to the hand Edward had resting against his abdomen. There was a bit more bulk than there used to be. “That’s. That’s incredible Edward. Wow.”

Edward managed a smile, buoyed by the positive reaction. “It means I’m going to be on light duty for awhile. Passenger runs only. Sorry, you and the twins will have to pick up my goods work.”

“I really don’t mind,” BoCo said earnestly. “You’re a good friend, and if you ever need help I’m here. And besides, I hear the Fat Controller is bringing in another engine to help with the goods traffic.”

“Oh?” Another engine would be good, at least until the electric service to Misty Island was ready and construction supplies could start going that way instead. “Do you know who?”

“All I have is rumors.” BoCo admitted. “Current rumor is that it’s Gator. That mountain climbing engine?”

“Oh, I hope so.” Gator was a very nice engine, and Edward regretted not having had a chance to talk with him during his short visits to the island. “I’m sure Percy would be very excited.”

“Which is why I haven’t mentioned it to him yet.” An excited Percy was usually a distracted Percy. BoCo looked up when his own horn suddenly sounded, a signal from his driver that it was time to get back to work. “Well, Edward. Take care, don’t work too hard. I’ve got a train to pull.”

“I’ll see you later, BoCo.” Edward waved him off before getting to his feet. He had work to get back to as well. 

As Edward climbed up into his cab and carefully strapped himself into the makeshift little seat against the tender, Charlie frowned contemplatively. Though the kludge had worked so far, a rusty stool with a strap on it wouldn’t do for much longer. “We need to figure out a better way to cart your human body around, Edward.”

“This seems to work fairly well.” Edward wasn’t entirely fond of the situation, but they had been making it work for three months so far and he didn’t see much reason to change it up now. 

“It isn’t good for you to sit like that for hours on end.” Charlie pointed out. “That sore back you get at the end of the day? It’s only going to get worse.”

“Plus, you aren’t going to fit up here for much longer.” Sidney added. “I mean, it’s already a cramped space. And you’re just going to be getting, ah, bigger.”

Edward sighed at the reminder and shifted over to his real body, but no solution presented itself. That was yet another thing to think about, the fact that his human self was going to be getting less mobile over the next few months, at least according to Alicia. If he wanted to keep working, he would need to find an easier way of riding along.


	11. Chapter 11

No matter how long or miserable Sudrian winters were, the summers on the island were gorgeous. The Wellsworth to Brendam branch line was kept busy with tourists heading to the animal park, or to and from their rooms on the SS Roxstar. Though Edward was technically on reduced duty, he was as busy as ever taking passenger trains along his branch line and to the rest of the island. 

They had, at least, finally found something to replace the old stool propped against the tender that Edward had been using to ride-along. It had been Sidney who came up with the idea of having Edward ride with the guard in the last coach. Their usual guard, an older man named Tim, took the news of Edward’s pregnancy fairly well and promised to look after the engine’s body when he wasn’t in it. The passengers, meanwhile, took little notice of the new face who rode the trains asleep slumped against the window. Edward wasn’t so obviously heavy yet as to invite stares or curious questions. 

He was, however, starting to show enough that the other engines at Tidmouth Sheds were getting a little curious. It probably would’ve been easiest to just tell everyone at once, but Edward wasn’t quite ready to deal with that. Instead, over the course of the next week, the blue engine’s friends gradually found out about the news. The majority of reactions were a mix of shock and disbelief, but generally positive in the end. Edward did ask that everyone who did know keep it relatively quiet. Gossip could spread like wildfire on the railway, but this was important. 

Before Edward knew it, a week had passed and it was time for another check-up with Alicia. Sundays were slow days on the railway, which meant having a few hours free to go to Knapford and walk to the clinic. 

James received permission to attend with his partner and, assured that Edward would be keeping his trousers on, Sir Topham made an appearance as well. 

“Good afternoon, Edward.” Alicia greeted as the small group entered the private room at the clinic. “How are you feeling?”

“The same as last week.” Edward offered as he sat down on the padded table. “I’ve mostly stopped feeling sick, though. With the. . . what was it called?”

“Morning sickness.” Alicia provided. “That’s normal, morning sickness usually only affects wom- uh, people in the early parts of pregnancy.”

“That’s good.” Edward said with relief, glad to know he’d no longer have to worry about heaving up his stomach contents. 

The first part of the appointment was spent just going over the basics. Temperature, blood pressure, and such. Nothing seemed to have really changed from the week before, which Alicia had really expected. It was some of the changes she wasn’t seeing that were confusing. 

“Has your chest been sensitive at all?” Alicia asked as Edward vanished his shirt. The engine’s middle was noticeably larger than it had been the week before, a sign that the baby was growing well, but equally blatant was the lack of development anywhere else.

“Not really?” Edward looked down at his chest, which was as flat as it always had been. “Is that a problem?”

“It shouldn’t be.” Alicia was just guessing about some of this stuff, this was completely new territory. “Just means you won’t be breastfeeding this baby. That shouldn’t be too much of an issue.” And hopefully wasn’t a sign of an underlying issue with his hormone levels. Alicia briefly wished she could take some blood samples, but knew she’d have to settle for just monitoring the physical. 

The ultrasound machine was fired up next, James moving to hold Edward’s hand as they observed the fuzzy shapes on the machine. 

“The baby should be old enough for us to see the gender.” Alicia commented as she carefully moved the wand around to try and get the best look. “Would you like to know?”

“How can you tell?” James asked, a frown on his face. “It’s not like they can talk yet or anything.”

“Well, if the baby turns the right way, we should be able to see what they have between their legs.” Both engines continued to look confused, and Alicia had a moment of understanding. From what she knew of the engine’s human forms, they displayed a variety of genital and gender combinations. A prime example of which was sitting before her. They probably didn’t particularly care about the sex of their unborn child. “Well, nevermind. It seems that the baby is being a bit shy, anyway.”

A couple pictures of the ultrasound scan were printed, which Charlie happily added to a small photobook he had begun to compile. It was always good to save memories for later on down the road. 

Once Charlie had left with Edward and James in tow, Sir Topham moved to address Alicia himself. The railway owner wanted to get a better idea of just how his engine was doing. 

“I’ll be honest, sir. Edward seems to be in quite good health.” Despite the unusual nature of the situation, Alicia hadn’t seen anything that seemed particularly concerning. “I’d say just keep a close eye on him. Makes sure he eats well and doesn’t do anything dangerous. Light exercise is fine, so I guess he should be okay to keep working.”

“That’s good.” Sir Topham had been working to organize replacements for Edward for when the blue engine inevitably had to take some time off, but nothing was finalized yet. He also knew that Edward would most likely hate the idea of not being able to work for any period of time. “Do you think weekly check-ups will still be necessary?”

“I’d like to keep doing them. Just because I can’t be totally sure about any of this, so I think it’d be best.” Alicia hoped that this would continue to progress like a relatively normal human pregnancy, but at this point who the hell knew what would happen. Better to be safe than sorry. 

As Sir Topham made a note about this in his schedule planner, Alicia took a deep breath and prepared to ask the man a question of her own. 

“Uh, sir?” The young woman went from confident doctor to nervous recent college-grad.  
“I have this friend from college. And, well, I promised him I would ask you something for him if I ever had the chance.”

The Fat Controller put away his planner and looked her way curiously. “Yes?”

“Well, he’s getting ready to do this big academic paper for his degree. And he wants to write it about living machines. And since you own the largest number of living railway engines in the country, well. . .” Alicia picked at her fingernails. “He wants to know if he could come and interview the engines and write about them in his paper.”

Sir Topham frowned, considering the request. “I don’t like the idea of my engines being some kind of research subjects. What kind of paper is this?”

“Nothing bad, I swear.” Her friend Archie could be a bit over-enthusiastic, but he had honest intentions. “He wants to write his paper on engine sentiency and how their consciousness compares to humans. At least, that’s what I think it’s about, he gets really excited when he talks about this stuff. He’s a really good guy, though. I think Archie wants to try and get some kind of rights for engines and other living machines.”

There was a long moment of silence as Sir Topham Hatt considered the request. He didn’t like people who did not work for the railway getting too close with the engines, but Alicia was doing him a very large favor by agreeing to keep the whole business with Edward secret. And it was true that no real scientific study had ever been done into living machines. 

“I will consider it,” Sir Topham said eventually. “Give me your friend’s contact information and I will speak with him personally.”

“Oh, thank you, sir.” Alicia wrote down Archie’s phone number on a scrap of paper, pleased that she had at least fulfilled her promise to her friend. 

 

Outside at Knapford yards, Edward was ready to get back to work. As he went to board the coaches, though, his driver put a hand on his shoulder and held him back. 

“Hang on a minute, Edward.” Charlie pulled out a Polaroid camera. “Photo time.”

The blue engine paused and moved back to stand flat on the ground. His driver had insisted on take a photo of him every Sunday after his appointments. Something about making a “progression” for the photobook. 

There was a bright flash and the Polaroid spat out a print, Charlie scribbling “16 weeks” across the bottom of the photo. Edward came over curiously and watched as the photograph faded into view. The engines always found it interesting to see images of themselves, since it wasn’t an opportunity they had often. 

“Not bad, huh? I think I finally figured out the camera settings.” It had taken some fiddling on Charlie’s part to get the Polaroid to take reliable, in focus pictures of the engine’s ghostly human forms. Edward was a little easier, since he was more determinedly solid than the others. 

Edward took the print, holding it up a little closer to his good eye. He looked very, well, normal in the photo. Like any ordinary human with a little extra weight around the middle. “I don’t look very . . . pregnant. I guess I just thought it would be more obvious.”

“Trust me, it will be soon enough.” Charlie chuckled. “It isn’t a bad thing to just look a bit fat. You’ll get a lot less stares than if you walk around as an obviously pregnant man.”

“Why is that?” Edward handed the photograph back so his driver could add it to the photobook. “I thought humans had babies all the time.”

“Women.” Charlie noted. “Human men don’t have babies. Just women.” 

“Oh.” Edward hadn’t really considered that. “What does that make me, then?”

“It, well.” His driver scratched the back of his neck nervously. “I mean, you still want us to call you Edward and “he” and all that, right?”

“I would prefer that, yes.” After eighty years, Edward was quite accustomed to the name and pronouns others used for him and didn’t particularly like the idea of changing it.

“Well then. I’d say that you’re still Edward, a guy who happens to have the parts required for carrying a baby.” Charlie stated firmly, though he was still getting used to the idea himself. 

Satisfied with that, Edward boarded the last coach and took his usual seat in the back. A small pillow was there so that he could prop it against the window and get comfortable before leaving his human body for the next few hours. The guard, Tim, would watch over it while he was busy working. 

Despite it being a Sunday, the afternoon Knapford-Wellsworth run was fairly full. The animal park was particularly popular this time of year and there were a lot of people staying at the high-end hotels at Dingley Hall and the SS Roxstar. 

Coming to a stop at Upper Suddery, where lots of tourists liked to go and see the ruins of the castle that used to protect the town, Edward felt unusually tired. An extra coach had been added to his usual train to help handle the increased number of passengers, but a simple passenger train still shouldn’t be very taxing on his systems. 

He soldiered on to Brendam before gratefully letting off the last of his passengers and settling down for a rest on a siding. 

“You alright there, Edward?” Porter came over to take away his coaches, but paused upon seeing the look of exhaustion on the blue engine’s face. 

“Yes, I’m fine. And you can leave the coaches, Porter.” Edward managed a smile. He did feel better now that he had a chance to sit and relax for a little bit. Maybe there was some point to his driver’s suggestion that he try to take things easier.

“Leave them? Alright.” Porter didn’t go back to his other duties, though. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m sure.” Edward didn’t mind his concern. All of the engines on the Wellsworth-Brendam branch line were good friends, and he knew he could trust them with his secret. “Do you want to come over to my rear coach? I can tell you what’s going on there.”

“Okay.” Porter was rather confused, but agreeably shifted to his human form and climbed up into the last coach of the train. 

Inside, Edward moved to his own human body and stretched carefully. Though the bench was much more comfortable than riding on the footplate, he always ended up very stiff after a few hours. 

“Nice accommodations,” Porter complimented as he looked around the inside of the coach. It wasn’t particularly luxurious compared to mainline carriages, but Porter was a dockside shunting engine and any coach was fancy to him. After a moment, Porter settled himself on the bench next to Edward. “Now, what’s going on? All of us are worried about you, Edward. Is your human self still stuck?”

“Yes, it is.” Edward smiled gently and settled a hand on the curve of his abdomen. “But now I know why. It’s because I’m having a baby.”

“W-what?” Porter followed the path of his friend’s hand with wide eyes. “You’re actually-?”

“Yep.” Edward patted his belly. “We knew that sex was how humans reproduced, but I had no idea we were capable of it too. At least, when temporarily human.”

“Wow.” Porter reached a hand forward, but stopped before actually touching. “May I-?”

“Of course.” Edward unbuttoned his waistcoat and lifted his shirt, letting Porter settle a rough, calloused hand against his skin. The tank engine had a look of absolute wonder on his face as he pressed very lightly against the blue engine’s bulge. 

If Edward hadn’t been focused on his midsection, he probably wouldn’t have felt the strange, fluttering sensation from within. As it was, he gasped and shifted, making Porter pull his hand back sharply. 

“No, no. It’s alright.” Edward reassured before Porter could think he’d done something wrong. “I think- I think maybe the baby is moving.”

“Really? It can do that?” Porter put his hand back, curious to feel what was happening.

“I was told I would be able to feel it soon.” Edward took Porter’s hand and shifted it a little lower, to where he could feel the soft movements. 

“What does it feel like?” Porter couldn’t really feel anything, but thought maybe there was something pushing a little bit against his hand. 

“Like I have a cleaner in my boiler with a very soft brush.” It wasn’t the best analogy, but it was the closest thing Edward could think of. The two stayed there for a few minutes longer, until the baby apparently got tired and went back to sleep. 

“That’s so cool, Edward.” Porter drew away and put his hands back in his lap, still staring at his friend.

“Thanks,” Edward chuckled. ‘Cool’ wasn’t really the word he’d use, but it was good to know his friends thought so. “It does mean I’m on reduced duty. No goods for awhile. It’s also probably why I’ve felt so tired lately.”

“Well, just let me know if you need anything.” Porter said earnestly. “It’s the least I can do after you helped me with my problems.”

“Speaking of, how are you and Timothy doing?” Edward was a little glad to get the subject off of himself for awhile. 

“It’s been alright.” Porter made a habit of going up to the Clay Pits at least one day a week to see his partner. He would’ve gladly gone more often, but Timothy was worried that Bill and Ben would get suspicious. Porter had pointed out that Timothy was welcome to come down to the docks, but so far the oil-burning engine hadn’t taken him up on the offer. “I think something might be up with him, though. He’s been acting a little weird lately, but won’t tell me anything.”

“Well, just make sure he knows that you’re there for him no matter what happens.” Edward advised. “And if I see Bill and Ben, I’ll see if I can give them a talk about respecting other engine’s privacy.”

“Good luck with that.” Porter laughed. The twins just wouldn’t be the twins if they weren’t being annoying and playing pranks. “I have to get back to work, I’ll see you later, Edward. Take care.”

“Bye, Porter.” As the tank engine vanished, Edward pushed himself to his feet and climbed down from the coach. His driver had started insisted that they go for short walks during breaks and was probably wondering where he was. 

 

After finishing his jobs for the day and returning to Tidmouth sheds, Edward was ready to lie down in his bed and not move for awhile. James came in a little while later, eagerly flopping down next to his partner to tell him all about the day’s adventures. 

“Wait, so you actually felt the baby move?” Anything that James had done that day paled in comparison to that experience. “You’re sure?”

“Pretty sure.” Edward was lying back in just a soft pair of sleep trousers, paying careful attention to his torso just in case the feeling came again. So far, nothing yet. 

“And you let Porter feel it?” James was highly jealous. “I want to feel the baby move.” He had one hand resting possessively on his partner’s belly, just waiting for something to happen. 

“I’m sure you will.” Edward reassured. “Just be patient- oh!”

“What, what?” James moved his other hand to cover as much of his partner’s abdomen as possible. 

“No, not quite,” Edward shifted the red engine’s hands a little, “There, right there.”

James felt the softest of movements against his palm and gasped. “Wow. I can’t believe it, there’s an actual living person in there.”

“Yeah,” Edward’s voice grew quiet. “There actually is.”


	12. Chapter 12

All of Sodor was abuzz as the city of Arlesburgh prepared for the annual Sodor Wooden Boat Show and Sailing Regatta. It turned out that the big special guests everyone had been talking about were tallships that had been invited from all over the world. Soon, the harbor at Arlesburgh had been transformed from a sleepy fishing community to a bustling seaport. Every available slip was taken, some boats rafted three or four deep in order to fit everyone in. Nearest to land were the private yachts and cabin cruisers, polished brightwork gleaming. Beyond them was a forest of masts and rigging created by the small army of sailboats that had arrived to participate in the regatta. And finally, towering over all else in the harbor, were the lofty spars of the attending tallships. It was almost like having real pirates there, or their ships at least. 

With the festival drawing in thousands of tourists from all over the country, passenger service suddenly became the most important thing on the railway. At least for a week. Normally, passenger trains ran every half-hour from Arlesburgh to Tidmouth during peak hours. For the festival, the Fat Controller wanted to double that. To do that, he brought in Edward and James to the Little Western line for the length of the festival. Because Edward was extremely reliable and James, even though no one would admit it for fear of inflating his already enormous ego, really was a very splendid-looking engine that delighted tourists. Emily was also called in to handle the occasional train during the day while Edward was on his rest breaks. 

“I’ve never seen so many ships.” Edward said with wonder as he and James arrived at Arlesburgh. 

“It is very impressive.” James agreed. “And think of all the people who are coming to see. Hundreds of people to admire my paintwork.”

“I’m sure that’s what they’re here for.” Edward responded with amusement. The red engine really did look very good, red paint and golden stripes shining in the summer sun. Even the brass of his steam dome had been polished until it gleamed. It made Edward feel rather plain in comparison, even though he had been given a very thorough wash-down that morning. 

“You look nice too.” James offered after a moment’s hesitation. Then he fetched his coaches and left for the platform. 

“Wow, James complimenting someone besides himself.” Charlie leaned out of the cab to give Edward’s sides a pat. “Never thought I’d see the day.”

“He is capable of it.” Edward retorted fondly, stopping on a siding beside the festival. He had half an hour before his first train, which meant time for breakfast. He had recently started eating a full three meals a day, which seemed to help with the increased tiredness he’d been experiencing lately. 

As Edward took a seat on a large cleat-shaped bench that overlooked the harbor, a familiar whistle drew his attention. It was Duck, who had just arrived with the Arlesburgh-bound train and was coming over for a short rest. 

After a few moments, the green tank engine’s human form settled down next to Edward. “Morning, Edward.”

“Good morning, Duck.” Edward responded after a pause, taking a bite from his breakfast sandwich. Things had been rather awkward between him and Duck for the past year and a half or so. Ever since Duck had told Edward he didn’t “approve” of the blue engine’s relationship with James. Though Duck had later apologized, they hadn’t talked much since. 

Duck sighed at the rather cool greeting. He had always greatly enjoyed Edward’s friendship, and deeply regretted messing things up so badly. “Look, I know I hurt you when I said those things about you and James. I really am sorry. And you don’t have to forget all about it. But, I do hope that someday I could make it up to you. I very much miss having you as a friend.”

Edward looked over at the other engine with some surprise. He hadn’t realized just how poorly Duck felt about the whole situation. “I’m sorry, Duck. I do still consider you a friend. Really. But you have to know that James is part of the package. He’s my partner, and I do love him.”

“I know.” Duck cringed a bit at that statement, but recovered quickly. If he wanted to be friends with Edward again, he was just going to have to accept that James was going to be part of that. It might take a little while, but he could do that. 

“I know you and James don’t get along well.” Edward knew that James’ boisterous personality could really rub Duck the wrong way, and didn’t really expect them to immediately become fast friends. “At least try to be civil? I’ll have a talk with James about it later.”

“Anything for you, Edward.” Duck couldn’t really make any promises, but he would at least try. Now reassured that Edward didn’t mind his presence, Duck felt himself relax as they both looked out across the many ships in the harbor, “So. Is there a reason for the food?”

Edward paused mid-bite. He had forgotten that there were engines on the railway that didn’t know about his human troubles. Briefly, he debated what to say. Could he trust Duck with what was really going on? That was a silly question, he knew that the green engine had a very strong code of ethics and would never break a promise. The real question was; did he want to tell Duck?

“It’s kind of a secret.” Edward warned. “You can’t tell anyone.”

“Of course.” Duck replied solemnly, now even more curious to know what was happening. 

“When we were human a few months ago. James and I, well, tried being intimate the way humans are.” Edward never could admit that without blushing at the memory. “And now I’m pregnant. So I have to eat regularly now. For the baby.”

This was perhaps the first time in his life Duck had ever been caught speechless. He stared at his friend, glancing down at Edward’s obviously-widening midsection and back up at his face. “You and James-?”

“Are having a baby.” Edward supplied. No matter how many times he said it, the reminder of what was happening would always be incredible to him. “Yes.”

“Wow.” Duck was having trouble knowing just what to think about this. Edward seemed happy, at least, but engines weren’t made for this kind of thing. “What does the Fat Controller think?”

“I think he’s okay with it. Sir Topham has been working on finding people willing to raise the baby. Since James and I can’t.” And Edward certainly hoped that the railway owner succeeded soon, it would take some of the weight off his mind. “Right now he has me on reduced duty. Passengers only.”

Well, if the Fat Controller didn’t have any issue with it then Duck didn’t either. He was still having trouble actually believing Edward, but the blue engine’s sincere smile as he settled a hand on his belly spoke volumes. “Will you be alright with all the festival traffic?” Now, a bit of concern was starting to seep into Duck’s mind. He knew very little about human reproduction except that babies were very fragile things.

“I’ll be just fine.” Edward finished off his breakfast and brushed the crumbs off his trousers. “I’m still as capable of pulling trains as ever. In fact, I think it’s time for my first one of the morning. I’ll see you later, Duck.”

“Goodbye, Edward.” Duck called after him as he returned to his body. 

It was still early in the day, so there weren’t very many people leaving Arlesburgh already. The train was fairly empty, allowing Edward to make good time as he headed south. His trains went all the way to Knapford, where there was a large crowd of people on the platform waiting for the train back north. 

As passengers loaded the carriages, Edward was surprised to see his owner walking towards him. Hopefully, the man wasn’t here to take him off the festival traffic. It would be a long week, but Edward did enjoy seeing all the ships and tourists. 

“Hello, Edward!” Sir Topham called, raising a hand as he stopped near the front of the engine where he could be easily seen. “How is your morning?”

“Good morning, sir.” Edward responded happily. “It’s going well, sir. I’m excited to get back to Arlesburgh to see the start of the festival.”

“Good, good. Just let me know if you need more breaks.” Sir Topham glanced around before sidling closer, and Edward realized that the man didn’t have either of his attendants with him. “Now, I had something a little more important I wanted to suggest to you.”

“Sir?” 

“I was considering options for adoption.” Sir Topham lowered his voice even further, as if afraid someone would overhear. “And I was thinking that, I really wouldn’t mind having another grand-child.”

Was he really offering-? Edward’s mouth dropped open in surprise. “Sir, do you mean-?”

“What I am saying is that my daughter and son-in-law have offered to adopt the baby. If you agree, that is.” 

“I- I will have to think about it.” Edward was a little too overwhelmed to immediately come up with an answer. “Thank you sir.”

“Of course.” Sir Topham stepped back as the guard blew his whistle and waved the green flag. “Enjoy the festival.”

“Yes sir.” Edward chuffed off to turn around and head back for Arlesburgh, his mind suddenly much more preoccupied than it had been. It was a wonderful solution, really. Sir Topham Hatt’s grandchildren were beloved by the engines of the railway, and often spent the day on the Northwestern Railway when they were away from school. So why was he still hesitating?

Arriving once more as the festival, Edward unloaded his passengers and had another short break to eat lunch before making a return trip. His crew offered to sit with him, to discuss the offer that Sir Topham had made to him, but Edward declined. He valued his crew’s opinion, but they didn’t quite have the perspective on the situation to really answer his questions. Instead, Edward settled on a bench near some of the larger ships at the festival to sit and think things over quietly. 

 

With as well-attended an event as the Sodor Wooden Boat Festival, it was decided that several of the island’s new tugboats should make an appearance. Talk with the public, show off to the many boating enthusiasts, and in general be good ambassadors for living ships the world over. Zorran and Zebedee, who worked the Arlesburgh harbor, had too much to do to sit tied up for the length of the festival (and no one really trusted either of the two around the general populous anyway), and most of the Star Fleet were likewise being kept busy over in Brendam. So, the two tugs chosen to attend ended up being OJ and, despite not actually being a wooden vessel, Hercules. 

The large ocean-going tug had been stuffed as close to shore as he would fit in the marina, giving him a commanding view of the festival as well as a decent vantage point to observe the railway platform of Arlesburgh. It was fun to watch the bustling engines of the island; Hercules didn’t have much contact with land vehicles and hoped he’d have a chance to talk with one of them sometime before the end of the festival. 

Midday meant lunchtime, with the humans settling down at various eating places shoreside and giving the ships a short break from the constant stream of visitors. Hercules observed the people going about their business with distant curiosity when he noticed a figure seated alone on a nearby bench. The tugboat could tell even at this distance that the person was not human, but he didn’t recognize them as one of the boats at the festival either. Must be one of the railway engines, they were the only other living machines Hercules could see in the area. 

Moving over to his human form, Hercules wandered over to the engine and took a seat. “Do you mind if I sit here? My name is Hercules, I’m an ocean-going tug.” He nodded towards his real body, moored several slips away. Hercules had discovered that it was always best to fully introduce himself as a living ship, before any other assumptions could be made.

“Oh, no. I don’t mind at all. I’m Edward, a mixed traffic engine.” The blue engine looked up with some surprise when the large-framed tug settled next to him. Though Edward had wanted to spend his lunch alone with his thoughts, he wasn’t opposed to having a chat with one of the new tugboats. Especially one he hadn’t met yet. 

“Having lunch then, I see?” Hercules found it very curious that the engine was eating, something he’d never known living machines to do. Admittedly, he hadn’t met any railway engines before. 

“Ah, yes. Just a . . . hobby of mine.” Though Edward hadn’t minded sharing more with the engines he was friends with, he wasn’t about to spill his secret to an unfamiliar ship he’d just met. When had his life gotten so complicated?

As Edward grew silent again, a frown on his face, Hercules felt himself grow somewhat concerned. It was clear the engine had something bothering him. “My apologies, darling, but is there something troubling you?”

“Things have just been . . . difficult lately.” Edward admitted. He was no good at lying, and never really had been. “I have a lot of think about. It is something rather, private, though.” Almost unconsciously, he settled a hand protectively over his middle. Very private. 

Hercules’ eyes narrowed behind his amber glasses, clues coming together in his mind. A living machine eating when, as far as he knew, there was no real reason to? Emotional trouble appearing to have something to do with a suspiciously rounded midsection? Hercules was abruptly reminded of himself, fifty years before. When he had been sitting alone on a dock, having just learned of his pregnancy and terrified because he had no idea what he was going to do about it. 

“Does this, by any chance, have something to do with a baby?” Hercules was taking a real shot in the dark here, but if he was right perhaps he could help. 

“How did you know?” Edward looked at the tug in shock. Was it really so obvious that anyone could spot it?

“Because I’ve been in the same position.” Hercules admitted. 

Could- could he really mean? “You’ve. Had a baby?” In the more than one-hundred years that living machines had existed, it wasn’t completely impossible for this to have occurred before. Edward was still floored to know that someone else had, in fact, been through this exact same thing. 

“It was about fifty years ago.” Hercules said with a nod. “We were turned into humans around Christmas. I, well, got a little too drunk and did some unwise things with a human sailor. And when everyone else went back to normal, I didn’t.”

“Because the baby was keeping you solid.” Edward continued, still amazed. “Can, can I ask what you did with the child after you had it? Did you raise it?”

So that’s what had the engine so flustered. “No, I didn’t. My owner adopted him, and raised him as a son. I do love him, but I’m an ocean-going tugboat. It’s, hard, to spend large amounts of time in the harbor.”

“Your owner.” Just like what Edward had just been offered. “My owner has said something similar. He offered to have his son adopt my baby. To have a new grandchild.”

“And will you do it?”

“I- I think so.” Every time Edward thought about it, accepting Sir Topham’s offer seemed to be the best solution. “Your son, how did he turn out? Do you still see him?”

“All the time. In fact,” Hercules turned to look at his real body, where he could see a very familiar human standing on the foredeck talking with a few festival-goers. “Captain Star!”

Triton Star turned upon hearing the call, excusing himself from the couple he was talking to and walking over to the pair. “Yes, Hercules?”

“Sir, this is Edward.” Hercules gestured to his conversation companion. “Edward, this is Triton. My son.”

Triton’s eyes widened at the introduction as he took a seat next to the tug. Hercules almost never spoke of their true relationship, not out of malice, but because explaining the truth to anyone outside the very small circle already in the know was far too awkward. Clearly, there was something very different about this Edward. “Hello, Edward. I’m Triton Star, I run the Star Fleet of tugboats. And, as Hercules said, I’m his. Well, son.”

“Pleased to meet you.” It took Edward a moment to remember human niceties and held out his hand to shake. 

“Edward here is going to have a child soon. He asked me how my own son was doing,” Hercules grinned even as Triton looked over at the blue engine with surprise. “As you can see, m’dear, he’s doing very well. Triton is now my new owner, he took over the company from the previous Captain Star.”

“Who raised me as his son,” Triton added. 

“I see,” Edward fiddled with his hands in his lap, no longer interested in finishing the lunch he had come here to eat. “Was that, alright? Did you always know about your. Well, actual origin?”

Triton chuckled. “No, I didn’t. And I’m glad, I wouldn’t have understood it when I was young. I won’t say it was always easy. Sometimes, I would wonder who my real parents were. Why they couldn’t keep me. Fortunately my father, Captain Star, was a great man. He was always there for me. My mother too. They finally told me when I was eighteen.”

“That. Must have been interesting.” It was one of the many things that was worrying Edward. 

“That’s one way of putting it.”

 

Triton Star had just graduated from high school a few days before, first in the family to do so. He would be leaving in a few days to join the Merchant Marine, because his father insisted that Triton go to sea for a few years before returning to take over Star Tug and Marine. 

In the office down at the Big City waterfront, Triton looked curiously at his father with all the arrogance of a teenage young man with the world in front of him. “My real father? What do you mean?”

“I’ve always been open with you about your being adopted.” Captain Star had never wanted to lie to his son, and had always emphasized that the boy’s real father did care for him but was not able to raise him. And now, he thought Triton was old enough to handle the actual truth. It had been a tricky enough task keeping the story of his origin from him this long, ships weren’t exactly known for their discretion. “I think it’s time you learn who your birth father is. You’re a man now, and I think you deserve to know.”

“My birth father?” Triton had been able to glean very little information about the man over the years, except that Captain Star was apparently still very good friends with him and that is why he had offered to raise Triton. “Am I going to meet him? What about my mother?”

Captain Star grimaced before he could help it. God, this was going to be complicated. “Well, uh, you’ll see.”

Desperately curious, Triton followed his adoptive father down onto the Star pier. The dockside was empty of tugs, as they were all out on jobs, save one. The large form of Hercules was tied up at the slip on the very end, having returned from a cross-ocean trip a few hours before. 

“Heya, Hercules.” Triton greeted the tug with a wave. He had practically been raised by the tugs of the Star Fleet and considered most of them to be like his odd uncles. Well, except Ten Cents and Sunshine, which were really more like older cousins. “How was the trip?”

“Good afternoon, m’dear.” Hercules looked down at the two humans with a warm smile. “The trip went very well. Hawaii is lovely this time of year.”

“I thought it would be a good time for Triton to find out about his birth father.” Captain Star gave Hercules a significant look. “Since he’s now graduated high school and is shipping out in a few days.”

“I see.” Hercules grew more solemn and moved to his human form, climbing down from his wheelhouse to join the pair on the dock. “It’s finally that time?”

Triton looked between the two with a confused expression. “I don’t get it. Does Hercules know my birth father or something?”

“No,” Captain Star took a deep breath and mentally prepared what he would say. He had thought of some many scenarios over the years, different ways to say it. None of them were good enough. “Hercules is your birth father.”

“Excuse me?” Triton felt his excitement melt into disappointment. “If this is a joke, it isn’t funny.” He had been so eager to meet his birth parents, and now they pull this on him?

“No joke, Triton.” Hercules said seriously, using the boy’s actual name rather than any form of endearment. Now wasn’t the time for that. “You remember how we sometimes turn human?”

Of course Triton remembered. The last time it had happened was about four years ago, when he’d just been starting High School, and boy had that been a weird weekend. “Are. Are you saying that you turned human one time and did it with a human lady? And that I’m the result?”

“Well, not quite.” Captain Star pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to Triton, “Perhaps this will help explain.”

Triton unfolded the paper, finding it to be an old, somewhat tattered photograph. It clearly showed Hercules, asleep on a couch with his head bowed. The tug had changed very little since, for ships aged in a very different way from humans. The one, unmistakable difference, though, was the way that photograph Hercules was resting one hand on a round, bulging belly. 

Triton’s mind ground to a screeching halt. Hercules, the powerful –male- ocean going tug he’d known all his life? Pregnant? What was going on?

“This was taken about two weeks before Hercules had you.” Captain Star supplied. It was the only photograph they had of Hercules while he was pregnant, taken only because the tug had been asleep and unable to protest. 

“What- what does this mean?!” Triton stared at the photo, then back up at the two men. His two . . . fathers? “I gotta. I can’t-“ He thrust the photo back at Captain Star before turning to run. He couldn’t deal with all of this. 

“Well, I think that went about as expected.” Captain Star watched his son go with a heavy heart. He’d known it wouldn’t be easy. “I should go after him.”

“No, I’ll go.” Hercules nodded to his owner before jogging after the distraught teenager at a slightly more sedate pace. 

It didn’t take long to track down Triton. The boy always went to the same place when he was having trouble and needed to stop and think. An abandoned dock on the south end of the harbor that hadn’t been used in years, home only to seagulls and cormorants. And that was where Hercules found Triton, sitting on the edge of the rotting dock with his legs dangling over the side. 

“Triton?” Hercules carefully sank down next to his son, “I’m sorry.”

Triton sighed heavily. He never could stay mad for long, and that initial anger he had felt was fading. Now, he just felt tired. “No. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have run like that.”

“It’s alright, m’dear. I’m sure this was. . . a bit of a shock.”

“That’s an understatement.” Triton laughed weakly. “So. If you’re my. . . mom? Is there another ship involved?”

“No.” Hercules had expected the question, but was still rather embarrassed of the answer. “I must admit that I didn’t conduct myself well as a human. Myself and the others got quite drunk, and I did some things I do not recommend with a sailor on shore leave.”

Triton grimaced at the mental imagery. He really didn’t need to think about that. “Things that resulted in me?”

“Yes. That’s the one thing I don’t regret.” Hercules placed a hand on Triton’s shoulder gently. 

“So what does that make me?” Triton stared down at his hands, but didn’t shrug away from his father’s touch. “Am I. . . half ship or something?”

“No, as far as we can tell, you are completely human. Do you feel like something else?” Hercules had always privately worried about whether Triton would be able to thrive in the human world. 

“No, I guess not. I certainly feel human.” Triton flexed his fingers before looking up at Hercules. “So, should I call you ‘dad’ now?”

“Not if you don’t want to.” Hercules was satisfied with the relationship he had with the boy and didn’t expect anything more. “The other Star Tugs know, but nobody else does. It might be a bit, awkward.”

“Of course the other Star tugs know.” That explained why some of the tugs always seemed like they were hiding something from him. “I guess. . . I understand why you didn’t tell me earlier. And, I’m glad you did. At least my birth father isn’t boring.”

That brought a true smile out of Hercules as he rose back to his feet. “At least. Well, I should get back to the Star Pier. Feel free to come to me if ever you need anything.”

“Thanks, Hercules. I think I’m going to sit here and . . . think for awhile.” Triton wasn’t so confused anymore, but he still wanted a bit of alone time to process all of this new information. “I’ll see you tonight?”

“Tonight.” Hercules nodded and vanished. 

 

Triton Star finished the story with a sheepish smile. It wasn’t his proudest moment, but he’d had thirty years to come to terms with it. 

The story seemed to have brought some comfort to Edward, though, which was good. “So, are you totally human?” The blue engine asked curiously, a little afraid of the answer. One of his top worries lately was whether or not his child would be able to live as a human around other humans. 

“As far as I know.” Triton said with an expressive shrug. “I’ve gotten along for fifty years without noticing anything particularly unusual about me. Though, I do have the ability to calculate location based on celestial bodies without instruments." 

Edward’s confused expression showed that the engine didn’t quite know what that meant, so Triton elaborated. “I can look at the stars and know my exact latitude, to within about a mile. It’s an ability that usually only ocean going ships have. It did take some practice though.”

“Otherwise, Captain Star has been very successful.” Hercules said with a tinge of pride. “He took over the company nearly twenty five years ago from our previous owner. And has run it admirably.”

Triton turned a bit red at the praise. “Not well enough to keep running it into the modern age, but I tried.”

Edward smiled. “Still, I’m glad to know that maybe my child can have a chance for a good life.” 

“Happy to help.” Hercules responded, “And if you ever need any other advice. I can’t make promises, but I will do my best to be around.”

“I really appreciate it.” Edward pushed himself to his feet, wrapping up what was left of his lunch to save for later. “It’s really nice to know that someone else has been through this before. I have to go take my next train, but I’ll be working here for the rest of the festival.”

“And I’ll be here.” Hercules nodded in the direction of his real body, which was very thoroughly boxed in by dozens of other boats. “I’m sure I will see you later, sweetheart.”

“Come on, Hercules, we’ve got visitors to talk with.” Triton started back down the dock, his tug close behind him. Edward watched them go before walking back towards his own body up by the platform. Just wait until he told his crew who he’d met today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, presenting that one scene I promised I would write.
> 
> The photograph of Hercules mentioned? It's something like this. http://tinyurl.com/z68gww5


	13. Chapter 13

The discovery that Edward was not the first living machine to carry a human child created quite the buzz amongst the small circle who knew. Alicia immediately insisted on meeting Hercules, to get something of a baseline to compare Edward’s progress to. James was quite relieved to hear the news, and didn’t worry as much that their little indiscretion would kill or seriously injure his partner. 

“So, the Fat Controller made me an offer today.” Edward sat down on his bed, changing over into sleep clothes as James sat and watched. The red engine needed to hear about the –other- big news of the day. “He told me he wants to have another grandchild.”

It took James a minute or two to realize just what Edward was implying. “Wait, you mean? The Fat Controller wants the baby?”

“Well, his son and daughter do. Which would make the baby his grandchild.” Edward couldn’t recall anything specific about the younger Hatt’s, but if they raised Stephen and Bridget than they must know what they’re doing. 

“What did you say?”

“I said I’d think about it.” Edward scooted across the bed until he could lie back against the pillows at the head. James settled on his front next to his partner, snuggling close as he could. “I wanted some time before making a decision. And to get your opinion.”

“My opinion?” James was surprised by that for a moment. Edward was the one doing all the work, after all. “I think it’s a great idea. The Fat Controller sometimes gets cross with us, and gives me jobs that I hate, but in the end he’s fair and cares about us engines.”

“Yeah.” Edward slowly relaxed, feeling better about the choice. “I also spoke with Duck today.”

That made James stiffen up, looking at his partner with a mixture of confusion and irritation. “Why? He made it clear how he feels about us.”

“Duck apologized for that. Several times.” Edward didn’t really blame James for still holding it against the green tank engine. Though they had been together for a year and a half, Edward knew that James still feared having someone separate them. He suspected the red engine would never really get over what his siblings had said to him so many years ago, though James had gotten much better. “He wants to make amends. You know how Duck is; he places the opinion of his Controller before his own. He knows the Fat Controller is okay with our relationship.”

“I don’t trust him.” James argued. He wrapped one arm around his partner’s waist, a non-verbal claim. He liked to touch Edward when they were both in human form, to reassure himself that the blue engine was still his. In engine form, he usually just settled for the rare compliment or snarky remark. Getting Edward to smile was the best reward. 

“You don’t have to trust Duck.” Edward reassured, running a hand along James’ back. “Just, be civil to him? Please? For me? You two don’t have to make friends, but I enjoy Duck’s company and don’t want you two antagonizing each other.”

“I don’t antagonize Duck,” James noted with a frown. 

“James.” There was a warning in Edward’s voice.

“Fine.” James huffed, pulling himself closer. “But if he says anything to you that I don’t like, I’m shunting him into Arlesburgh harbor.”

“Fine.” Edward rolled his eyes, but allowed himself an amused smile as he drifted off to sleep. 

 

As the Wooden Boats Festival continued into the weekend, the engines managing passenger traffic on the Arlesburgh line were kept constantly busy bringing passengers to and from the harbor. Edward had never been more grateful for his enforced rest breaks, after pulling a heavy train nothing was better than sitting down by the seaside to have a bite to eat and relax a little in the warm sun. 

Oftentimes Hercules would join him, the two trading tales about their respective careers and stories. Edward was just as interested in life on the sea as Hercules was in the activities of land railways, and between the two of them there was plenty to talk about. 

James shared his mid-afternoon break, usually going out for a walk with his partner to look at the yachts and ships. Alicia had recommended he get regular light exercise, especially since his human body spent most of the day sitting on a bench, so he was making a concentrated effort to get walks of decent length into his daily schedule. 

Edward’s early morning breaks, however, had another visitor. Duck was still a little nervous about trying to renew their friendship, but felt a responsibility to make sure Edward was doing alright. Since this was Duck’s branch line they were running on, after all. 

“You ever wonder what it’s like?” Duck commented early Saturday morning as the two watched boats slowly sail by in the light summer breeze outside the harbor entrance. The regatta was starting in a few hours, starting with the smallest sailboats and moving up to the main show that was the visiting tallships. 

“What is?” Edward glanced at his friend curiously. 

“Sailing on the water.” Duck elaborated. He loved watching the small fishing skiffs and pleasure sailors that frequented Arlesburgh harbor. “It looks so peaceful, just going where the wind blows.”

“I guess I’ve never thought about it.” Edward watched as a small racing boat overtook a slower day-sailor, wind filling the beautiful, cream colored sails. “On a day like today, with the weather so nice, it does look fun.”

“The company that rents out sailboats is offering free rides for the festival.” Duck had been watching them go with a hint of jealousy all week. “I’d love to go out on one.”

“Why don’t you?” It didn’t look like the sailboats were getting very far from the harbor, close enough to take a ride in their human forms. Edward did admit that it sounded like fun. “There’s still one day left in the festival.”

“I’m on duty.” Duck seemed quite offended at the very idea of leaving his body long enough to do something fun. “I can’t just go out sailing. I have a branch line to run.”

“You have breaks between trains.” Edward pointed out. “You’re sitting here with me right now. What about tomorrow morning, we could go out for a short sail instead?”

“We?” Duck glanced down at Edward’s abdomen, “Are you sure that’s safe? With the, uh, baby and all?”

“I’m sure it’s fine.” Edward rubbed his hand across the bulge of his belly. So far, he hadn’t felt particularly restricted by the extra weight, and was still able to do all of his usual activities. Riding in a sailboat didn’t sound particularly strenuous. “I’ll ask Driver. But, if he says it’s okay, did you want to go?”

“I, uh.” Duck felt caught between his sense of duty and his desire to go sailing. And the thought of spending more time with Edward. “If we get back before my break ends.”

“Speaking of breaks ending.” Edward balled up the trash remains from his lunch and stood. “I will see you tomorrow, Duck.”

“Tomorrow.” Duck promised, departing for his own train. 

The thought of spending time sailing with Edward buoyed Duck’s mood for the rest of the day. He pulled into Tidmouth station on the last run of the evening, humming a little tune under his breath, when he heard a rather unwelcome whistle.

“James.” The green tank engine greeted grudgingly as another train pulled into the next platform. 

“Duck.” James had a scowl on his face, though he just barely managed to refrain from saying anything rude by remembering his promise to Edward from the night before. “So. I hear you’ve been spending time with Edward again.”

With an internal sinking feeling Duck realized that though he’d apologized to Edward several times, he had never said sorry to James. The red engine had surely heard about things from his partner and deserved an apology, even if Duck didn’t like it. “Look, I’m sorry for what I said. Edward is my friend.”

“He might have forgiven you, but I haven’t.” James kept his voice low, aware of the people disembarking from his coaches. “If you were really Edward’s friend you wouldn’t have said those things.”

Duck cringed, the accusation stinging right to his firebox. “I-“

“You’re just like my siblings; you hate anyone who is different.” James had forgotten all about his promise to not be antagonistic in his anger. 

“I was scared for him, alright?.” Duck finally admitted. “Back on the Great Western. An engine who was a good friend of mine fell in love. And he was scrapped. I . .. I didn’t want the same thing to happen to Edward.”

That shocked James into silence. He had never considered that Duck had been anything but intolerant, that he might have said things for a deeper reason. “I still don’t have to like you.” James managed finally. “But Edward likes you. So. Look after him, alright?”

“I can do that.” Duck didn’t really like James either, but felt that he now had a least a little understanding of where the red engine was coming from. One thing that was clear was how much James cared for Edward. That was enough to satisfy Duck as he turned around to head back to Arlesburgh. 

 

After the day’s work was done, Edward asked his driver whether it was alright for him to go out sailing. Charlie was surprised to hear it, but didn’t see any reason why he couldn’t. 

“Just be careful.” The engine driver recommended. “Wear a lifejacket. If you don’t feel good, or you get sick, just come back in. You’ll be with Duck, right?”

“Yes. And there will be a human there to do the sailing. We’ll just be riding along.” Edward was grateful to know it was alright. He was actually looking forward to going out and trying something new. 

“Okay. Just, be safe.” 

Edward had no plans of doing otherwise the next morning as he made his way down the docks to the slip where a small fleet of sailboats were tied up. Hercules was waiting there, having agreed to come along, and Duck was not far behind. 

“So, we’ve got Hercules, Edward, and, uh, Duck?” A human employee of the rental company looked at his clipboard, where they had signed their names up for a free ride. “I’m Clint. If you’ll grab a lifejacket, we’ll get you on a boat.”

Edward and Duck both dutifully strapped on the floatation devices, though Hercules declined. Clint attempted to insist, but gave up after Hercules explained that he was actually a tugboat and had nothing to fear of the water. Company policies didn’t have any specifications for non-human entities, so Clint decided to let it go. 

Hercules lightly hopped down into the knockabout skiff they’d be taking, unbothered when the little boat rocked against its fenders, then held out a hand to help Edward step down a bit more carefully. Duck settled onto the bench across from the two, then their human guide sat himself down at the tiller. 

The breeze was a bit more brisk than it had been the previous day. As Clint cast off their lines and adjusted the sheets, wind filled their sail and they were off. There was a light chop outside the walls of the harbor, rocking them with its rhythmic slap against the hull of the little boat. 

Turning them a few more degrees off the wind, Clint tightened the sheets and the skiff heeled right over on its side. Edward gave a little yelp and braced himself against the floorboards of the boat, pressing his back against the gunwale as the world went vertical. Duck, on the lower side, immediately leaned forward and shifted sideways to keep from falling out into the water. 

Hercules chuckled at their discomfort. “It’s just a good heel. Further over we go, faster the boat gets.” He turned his attention to the human at the tiller. “We aren’t in a hurry, and I don’t think any of us would like to have to hike today.”

“No hiking.” Clint agreed, adjusting their course and letting the boat fall back closer to trim. “We are about to tack, though. Watch your heads on the boom, please.”

Edward and Duck dutifully scrunched a little lower in their seats and the tiller was put hard over. The boat shoved itself through the eye of the wind, the other side of the sail filling and forcing the skiff over onto its starboard side. Duck laughed a little in exhilaration as he suddenly found himself on the high side, Edward switching seats to join him on the port side as well. 

“Having fun?” Edward asked over the noise of the wind. He could feel a familiar nausea forming at the bobbing of the boat, but he was determined to last out the session and not puke. 

“It’s better than I imagined.” Duck responded with a broad grin. This was like rushing down the rails with the wind in his face, but at the same time completely different. He had never really seen the use of having a false human body, but now he was starting to appreciate the ability. 

“There is nothing more freeing than being out on the water.” Hercules agreed, completely at ease even as the wind blew spray off the waves and into their faces. Being on a small skiff instead of his own, large body was always fun. One felt the waves and wind even more intimately. 

 

As Edward and Duck were enjoying a Sunday sail, someone else was arriving on the island for the first time. Gordon’s express pulled into Knapford station, letting off a young, eager eyed graduate student. Archie Binns had been given the chance of a lifetime, to interview and research the engines of the Northwestern Railway for his paper. 

Sir Topham Hatt came out to meet him on the platform, but before he could say anything Archie shook his hand vigorously. “Thank you so much for this opportunity, sir.” The young man gushed. “No other railroad has as many living engines as you do, sir. And all the preservation railways denied my request. I am so grateful for this chance.”

Sir Topham smiled despite himself at the student’s enthusiasm. “Your friend Alicia Sand is doing me a large favor, she asked me to at least hear out your proposal. But, I want to lay down a few guidelines.”

“Of course sir.” Archie was willing to jump through almost any hoop in order to get to talk with the engines. 

“I care about my engines above all else. Their duties come first, and their wellbeing.” Sir Topham was reluctant to even allow this, but wanted to be fair. “If I receive any complaints from my engines about you, you’re gone.”

“Yes sir. Right-o. I don’t want to do anything to make them uncomfortable.”

“Second, one of my engines is going through a . . . unique experience. If he chooses to tell you about it, which he may not.” Sir Topham wasn’t going to prevent Edward from speaking about his condition with the boy, but didn’t want news to spread. “I don’t want any mention of it in your paper.”

“Uh. Right.” Now Archie was even more curious and eager to start his research. “Can do.”

“And finally, I want you to present all your findings to me.” Sir Topham wanted to know beforehand just what was getting out to the scientific community. 

Archie was a little less eager about that stipulation, not liking the idea of someone watching over his shoulder, but so be it. “Yes sir. Now, uh. Can you show me how to get to my hotel?”

“I will have one of my attendants drive you.” Sir Topham gestured to one of the railway employees that usually accompanied him. “We’ll see about scheduling you some time with the engines next week.”

“Thank you, sir!” Archie grasped his suitcase and followed after the blue-clad Northwestern worker. He couldn’t wait to get started.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which I belatedly introduce my -other- engine OC.

The Sodor Wooden Boat show ended Sunday afternoon with a parade of ships, before the many boats departed back for their home harbors. Edward and James remained on hand on the Arlesburgh branch line through Monday, to help bring people home who had stayed through the weekend, before going back to their respective duties.

Edward happily returned to work on his branch line, telling BoCo and Porter all about his activities of the last week. Porter was especially jealous that he had gotten to go out on a boat ride on the bay.

“Passenger engines get all the fun.” Porter lamented. He wasn’t really serious, the dock tank engine loved the job that he had been built for, but sometimes it was fun to imagine doing other duties.

“I keep telling everyone, goods trains aren’t that bad.” Edward rolled his eyes, “Though from the way Gordon goes on, you’d think trucks were a personal insult to engines.”

Porter chuckled. He’d never heard one of Gordon’s infamous rants, but he’d certainly heard plenty about them. “You’re just saying that because you’re on passenger only light duty.”

“Well, now, that’s beyond my contro- oh!” Edward cut himself off mid-word, eyes going wide.

Immediately, Porter’s mirth faded to be replaced with concern. Because Edward’s engine body didn’t look any different than normal, it was sometimes easy to forget about the blue engine’s rather. .. delicate condition. “You alright, Edward?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” A light blush colored Edward’s cheeks, but he didn’t seem to be experiencing any discomfort or pain. “It’s just, you know how even when you’re using your human form you can still feel what’s happening in your engine body? Well, I can feel my human body even when I’m not in it.”

“And is something wrong?” It would almost be worse if something was wrong with Edward’s human form. At least engines could be repaired.

“No, no. It’s just.” Edward lowered his voice, despite the fact that there was no one around. “The baby has been moving around more lately. It takes me by surprise sometimes.”

“Oh. Ah.” Porter wasn’t really sure what to say about that. “Well, that’s good. Right?”

“Yes, I think so.” Edward closed his eyes, clearly directing his attention elsewhere. “Reminds me that they’re still alive in there.”

 

While Edward was getting distracted or interrupted at odd times throughout the day, James was absolutely delighted about the baby’s increased movement. Whenever the two were around each other in human form, James insisted on having at least one hand or another body part against his partner’s belly so he wouldn’t miss anything.

“I’m a little surprised at you, James.” Edward noted one evening as he watched James tap against the stretched skin of his midsection, smiling as he felt the baby respond. “I didn’t think you’d appreciate seeing me, well, like this.”

James briefly thought about being offended at that, before dismissing it. He was quite aware of his reputation for being a narcissist obsessed with good looks. Which, well, he kind of was. But the appearance of his partner had never been the most important thing. “Of course not. I mean, you’re manufacturing a human in there. It’s amazing.”

Well, he had never heard it put quite like that before. Edward lifted his head to look curiously at James. “What do you mean by that?”

“Well, engines are built by humans.” James paused as he attempted to put his thoughts into words. “You were built by humans in a workshop. I was built by humans, modified by humans. We’re controlled by them, need them to move and operate. But you. You’re building a human. Inside you. It’s almost unbelievable.”

“I guess. I never really thought about it in that way.” Edward was a little surprised by the depth of James’ answer, and looked down at his rounded middle with new light.

“Plus, the baby’s going to be part you and part me, right? The kindest engine, and the most splendid looking engine on the island?” A smirk stretched across James’ face. “They’re gonna be the best human ever.”

“They could look like me.” Edward pointed out, just for the sake of argument.

“Well, uh.” James settled back down, lying close to his partner’s side. “I guess that’d be okay too.”

 

The next morning, Sir Topham arrived early at Tidmouth Sheds with an unfamiliar human in tow. That alone was unusual enough for the engines to wake up and take notice. They all looked curiously down at this new arrival, except, noticeably, for one.

“Could someone fetch Edward, please?” Sir Topham requested. No doubt the blue engine was still asleep, presumably in his human body since his face was absent from the smokebox.

“Right away, sir.” James popped out briefly, and a few moments later Edward’s face faded into view. The engine looked quite tired indeed, and yawned lightly. Sir Topham felt a little bad about waking him, but wanted everyone in attendance.

“Now, I have a brief announcement for you all.” Sir Topham grabbed his companion by the shoulders and pushed him forward a bit. “This young man is named Archie Binns. He is here to write about you all for a research paper for his school. He’ll be around for the next few months, and may ask you questions in your downtime. Please be respectful and answer any questions that you are comfortable answering.”

“Uh, h-hi,” Archie waved a hand nervously. He had met only one or two living engines in his life, never so many at once. “Yeah, I’m Archie. I was just hoping to ask you a few questions this morning while you warm up. You don’t have to answer anything you don’t want to.”

Sir Topham left the young man to it, walking over closer to Edward instead. “Could I have a word with you, Edward? In private? I’ll meet you in the back room.”

By the time the Fat Controller reached the back room, Edward had moved back to his human form and was sitting up in his bed, rubbing at the sleep in his eyes tiredly.

“Good morning, sir.” Edward pushed the blankets off and shifted until he was seated on the edge of the bed. In a flash, he was out of his pajamas and into day clothes.

“Good morning, Edward.” Sir Topham couldn’t help but observe the way the engine’s clothes didn’t fit over his form like they used to. “Are you still doing okay?”

“Yes sir.” Edward self-consciously smoothed down his waistcoat over the curve of his belly, dearly hoping that he wasn’t about to have his work restricted further. He was still capable of running his branch line. “Why do you ask?”

“I’m just making sure, don’t worry,” Sir Topham was keeping a close eye on the blue engine’s work, but didn’t see anything that concerned him yet. “I wanted to talk to you about the research paper that’s going on. You don’t have to say anything about the baby if you don’t want to. But if you do, Archie has promised to not say anything about it in his paper. I’ll leave it up to you.”

“Yes sir.” Edward honestly didn’t know what he would decide, but figured any more in depth thought on the subject could wait until he was actually awake. “Was that everything, sir?”

“No. I am sending Donald and Douglas back to the Arlesburgh branch line tomorrow. Now that the festival is over, there is a lot of goods traffic that needs to resume. I am moving Emily to your line to help with passenger traffic so BoCo may help with the goods. Gator should be coming in on a ship today to help take over your old goods trains.” Sir Topham knew the mountain-climbing engine to be a hard worker, but hoped there wouldn’t be another panic as there had been at his first visit to the island. “Fortunately, the electric engine at the Steamworks should be ready to go in a few days, provided the test run goes well, and all the goods for Misty Island can go via tunnel instead.”

“That will be good, sir.” Edward hesitated, wondering if it was appropriate to ask the question that he had. “Sir. Is there a reason you purchased an engine that isn’t alive?”

Sir Topham wondered when one of the engines would ask him that, the human crews had already questioned him over it. “That was not my intention. When I purchased the engine, I was told it was alive. There might have been some mistake, but we need an electric mixed traffic engine so we shall have to work with what we have.”

This answer satisfied Edward, and it was good to know that the Fat Controller hadn’t done it intentionally. “Thank you, sir. If you will please pardon me, I believe my driver is calling me.” He lay back down on the bed, then closed his eyes and went back to his real body.

His owner watched him go, feeling a bit disturbed as the human body on the bed went limp and lifeless. Was this what the engines felt like being around a non-living member of their kind? With this in mind, Sir Topham left the shed and got back into his car. There were other sheds that he needed to visit before the day was done.

 

In the main body of the roundhouse, Archie had gotten over his nervousness and was eagerly tackling the task of starting his research. All he wanted that morning was to get the names and a basic history of the engines. Since most engines loved nothing more than to talk about themselves, Archie was quickly filling his research notebook.

After getting down a little something about each engine in Tidmouth sheds, Archie moved on to visit some of the other sheds on the island. He hoped to have visited each engine by the end of the day, though from the number of engines he had heard lived on the island that might be a slightly more difficult task than he anticipated.

 

By midday, Archie figured he had managed to track down roughly half of the engines on the Northwestern and had already run out of space in one notebook. He stopped back at his hotel for another before making the trek to his next destination; the Sodor Steamworks. He would be able to get information on any engines there at the works, and hopefully also be able to talk to some humans about their experience working around living machines.

It was easy to catch a train to Crovan’s Gate, Archie than just followed the railroad tracks to the enormous repair facilities. They had fortunately been forewarned of his research project and allowed him entrance to the main locomotive works.

The narrow-gauge works engine, Victor, turned out to be very friendly. Archie made a note to come back and converse with him more about the experience of moving to a new country with a different language. There was also an enthusiastic, if clumsy, crane who was eager to talk with him. Archie wasn’t really doing his research on road vehicles, wanting to focus on railway engines, but humored him anyway.

A bit of a commotion drew Archie’s attention, and he looked over to see a large locomotive in a gleaming shade of brick red being moved to the front of the works by the engine lift. Carefully, the engine was lowered down onto the tracks, letting Archie see the folded pantograph frames on the roof. Interesting, he didn’t realize that the Northwestern Railway ran electric engines.

“Victor, who is that?” Archie asked curiously, walking over to the electric locomotive alongside the small tank engine.

“Ah, this is the new electric engine. A GG-1, from America.” Victor offered, coming to a stop adjacent to the engine. “However, to my knowledge, this engine is not alive. We have just finished modifications to the engine to run on British rails. Now that paint is done and new transformers are fitted, we are about to test it on live electricity for the first time.”

As he spoke, fitters came over with large electrical cables. There wasn’t an overhead cantenary in the works, so they had to come up with a slightly different way of running electric current to the engine. Assuming this test was successful, another engine would come by to take the GG-1 to Knapford to test it on the new mainline cantenary.

Archie and Victor, along with everyone else at the Steamworks, watched with interest as electricity was hooked up to the American engine for the first time since it had arrived on the island. There was a deep whirring sound as controls and traction motors received energy, and something about the engine seemed to come alive. Then, there was a loud yawn and everyone realized with a shock it actually –was- alive.

A face faded into view on the front of the engine, looking around with vague confusion. “Hmm, this isn’t Altoona.” The engine said in a soft, languid voice, focusing on the humans standing around staring. “Where have I ended up this time?”

It was Victor who found his voice first. “You are on the Island of Sodor, my friend. In the United Kingdom.”

“Sodor?” The electric engine looked over at Victor, eyes widening. “Oh my stars, a steam engine. I haven’t seen one of your kind in ages. Have I been sold to a preservation line?”

“Not quite.” Archie stepped forward eagerly, lifting his notebook. “Sodor is one of the few active steam railways left. Now, could I have your name? If you prefer one?”

“A steam railway, I’ll be darned.” Back in the US, there hadn’t been a steam engine on the Pennsylvania Railroad in ages. And certainly not after Pennsy had been sold. “Oh, how rude of me. I am GG-1 4876. Also known as Georgette.”

Archie dutifully scribbled down her road number and preferred name. “You weren’t awake before being hooked up to electricity. Is that common of all electric locomotives?”

“Oh, no.” Georgette laughed lightly. “Just me. Most electrics only get a bit sleepy when off the centenary. But I was involved with this incident a few years back. Crashed right through the wall of Union Station and into the basement. To get me out, they cut me into little 6-foot-pieces and reassembled me at Altoona. Ever since, disconnect me and that’s it. Everything goes black. By the way, how long was I out this time?”

Archie wrote furiously to try and record all of this new information. Well this was an interesting development.

 

As one new arrival to the island was awakening for the first time, another was just being unloaded at Brendam docks. A large tramp steamer had arrived earlier that day, Big Mac going out to retrieve it and bring it safely into the dock.

Cranky lowered his hook down into the hold of the ship, a grin stretching across the crane’s face as he saw just who he was being hitched up to. “Well, well. Look who it is.”

“Hello, Cranky.” Gator’s voice shook a bit as he was lifted out of the tramper and into the air. The engine really didn’t like heights, especially not when he was dangling by a single steel cable. “Long time no see.”

“Ahoy there, Gator!” Salty called as the mountain-climbing engine was lowered down onto the tracks. “Welcome back to Sodor. Here for a longer stay this time, I hope?”

“That’s what I hear.” Gator responded, grateful to be back on the ground. “I guess I’m needed for the next several months for goods traffic? My route on my home railway was just replaced by a diesel, so I guess I’m free for awhile.”

“Well, we’re all glad to have you,” Porter came over to gently shunt Gator to the docks shed, “I’m sure Percy will be very excited.”

“Percy? Is he here?” Gator looked around with excitement, but didn’t see a little green tank engine anywhere.

“No,” Porter chuckled with amusement as the other engine’s enthusiasm. “But I’m sure he will be by soon.”

“I do hope so.” Gator sighed as he settled back into the shed. Soon, he knew, the men who usually served as his crew while on Sodor would be by to light his fire and start getting steam up. And then, hopefully, he could get out on the rails.

“By the way,” Porter backed away from the other engine only to stop and look at him curiously. “What are your intentions towards Percy?”

“I’m not sure what you mean,” Gator responded innocently. True, he did have maybe a slight crush on the little green engine, but he certainly wouldn’t do anything unless he was absolutely sure the feelings were reciprocated.

“If you say so.” Porter grinned and left to finish his other work.

 

Once things at the docks were starting to settle down a little for the evening and there were no pressing jobs to get down, Porter left what remained to Salty and headed for the line to the Clay Pits. Timothy had claimed to be very busy lately, and Porter hadn’t really had a chance to see his partner in several weeks. The docks had been quite busy as well, all things considered, but Porter was determined to make time to see Timothy.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be. As Porter arrived at the Clay Pits, Timothy chuffed over looking absolutely exhausted. There were dark circles under the small tank engine’s eyes, and he yawned as he came to a halt.

“Are you okay, Timothy?” Porter was very concerned as he looked over his partner. “What’s going on?”

“First Bill and Ben. Now you.” Timothy grumbled in vague annoyance. “I’m fine, it’s just been very busy here. I do most of the work around here, and the new construction has been demanding big orders of clay.”

“If there is something wrong, you’ll tell me, right?” Porter pressed. He didn’t want to make demands, but he was starting to get extremely worried about his partner. If they needed to bring another engine in to help out at the clay pits, or if Timothy needed time off, Porter wanted to know.

Timothy hesitated, looking down at the tracks in front of him. “Yes. Of course.”

 

\----

 

 

For reference, this is a Pennsy GG-1 in the Tuscan Red with gold pinstripes paint scheme. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, anybody else get Gator/Percy vibes? I mean, they did have a whole gay musical number in Tale of the Brave.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a filler chapter here, but I wanted to finish introducing Georgette so I can get on to other things.

It was bright and early on a sunny Saturday morning and Paxton the diesel shunter was feeling very proud of himself as he arrived at the Sodor Steamworks. Small BR Class 08 shunters weren’t known for their speed, but they were very powerful. Which is why Paxton had been sent to fetch the island’s newest engine to take it to Knapford Station for a test run. 

Paxton hummed happily as he entered the large locomotive works building. “Good morning, Victor.”

“Good morning, Paxton my friend,” Victor responded with a smile, coming forward into the front portion of the shop. “You’re here to take the GG-1 I hope, we don’t do much diesel repair here.”

“Oh no, I don’t need any repair.” Paxton had gotten a good bout of routine maintenance only days before at the Dieselworks. “I’m here for the new engine.”

“She’s right over here.” Victor looked over to where the GG-1 was sitting on the turntable, paint freshly polished and ready to go. “This is Georgette. She will probably wake up when you reach Knapford.”

“Oh, uh, okay.” Paxton was somewhat distracted from the odd statement by the sight of the new engine. He had never seen anything like her gorgeous streamlined shape, red paint set off by golden pinstripes running from her nose to her cab. 

The diesel’s crew was able to draw him from his reverie long enough to get him turned around and coupled up to the electric locomotive. Going was slow, for a full-size engine was quite a bit heavier than the usual fare Paxton pulled, but eventually he managed to reach Knapford. 

Thomas was sitting at one of the station platforms with Annie and Clarabel, waiting for his next train, and the blue tank engine’s eyes went wide when he saw Paxton roll in with something very interesting in tow. 

“Paxton, who is that?” Thomas asked with his usual inquisitive enthusiasm. “Wait, is that engine even alive? Why would Sir Topham get a non-living engine?”

“I don’t know, Thomas.” Paxton positioned the electric engine underneath the new Catenary that ran through Knapford station and waited while he was uncoupled. “Victor says her name is Georgette. And that she would say something when we got to Knapford. I’m not sure what he meant by that, though.”

Fitters came out to unfold one of the two pantographs on the engine, slowly raising it up to contact the cantenery. As they worked, another train pulled into the station and stopped to unload passengers.

“Who is that?” James’ distinctive voice came through loud and clear as the red engine looked over the new arrival with a hint of disdain.

“The new electric engine.” Thomas replied, always proud to know gossip other engines didn’t. “And look, another red engine on the island.”

“Tch.” James scoffed, pulling his lip up in a sneer. “Red? That isn’t red, it’s more of a rust color. My shade is far more splendid.”

“Actually, it’s Tuscan Red.”

Everyone looked over with a start at the new addition to the conversation, surprised to see a face on the front of the electric engine where none had been before. 

“Although, your shade of red is nice too. Bit on the bright side, though, don’t you think?” Georgette looked around at the others, a little confused when they continued simply staring at her in shock. “What? Is there something on my face?”

James left the station with a loud harrumph, not appreciating the new engine’s opinion of his paint job, which only made Thomas grin with amusement. 

“Ah, and here’s my new engine.” Sir Topham Hatt came out onto the platform to greet his latest arrival. He paused for a moment upon seeing that the engine was, indeed, alive despite what all the workers had said. How strange, must have been some kind of mistake. “Welcome to Sodor. I am Sir Topham Hatt, owner of the railway.”

“We call him the Fat Controller,” Thomas muttered out of the corner of his mouth, making Paxton giggle from his place on the line behind Georgette.

To the electric engine’s credit, she managed to keep a fairly straight face despite the comment, and greeted her new owner with a smile. “Good to meet you, sir. They call me Georgette.”

“Wonderful. Welcome to Sodor, Georgette.” Sir Topham was glad to have at least one respectful engine. The man gave Thomas a look, but the tank engine only returned it with an unrepentant grin. “We’re going to have you run from here to Misty Island on the new rails. Assuming that goes well, there is a train of construction debris waiting to come back here to Knapford.”

“Yes, sir.” Georgette was excited to see her new railway. Though it had been months since she last worked, she remembered none of the time spent being shipped to the island or being worked on in the shop. It seemed like just yesterday she had gone to sleep in Pennsylvania, and now here she was in Europe. 

A man in a crisp, blue Northwestern Railway uniform came out onto the platform and climbed up into the cab. It hadn’t been easy to find someone who could operate an electric engine, and of course no one in Britain had run a GG-1. This test run would be just as much a learning experience for Georgette as it would be for her new driver. 

Cruising along the mainline, things went relatively smoothly. A few rough stops and starts as locomotive and driver got accustomed to each other, but by the time Georgette reached the Misty Island Tunnel she felt like most of the kinks had been worked out. 

“Now this is a tunnel!” The electric engine said with glee as she entered the dark space. The tunnel was single-track, though the rails were new and smooth, and rough-hewn stone walls had been covered with neat brick-work. Electric lighting set into the roof of the tunnel provided dim illumination for Georgette as she picked up speed. She had been rolling at less than half her rated service speed, but now felt comfortable enough to work up to a nice cruising rate. 

Bursting out the other side of the tunnel into the bright sunlight, Georgette slowed down to a stop as she reached the construction yard. Misty Island had once been thickly forested, though now several plots had been cleared and large mansions were in various stages of construction. Still, here and there were huge stands of trees larger than the electric engine had ever seen. And beyond the new housing, past what appeared to be a run-down logging station, the island rose up into high hills that were still covered in greenery. A white mist clung to the higher elevations, persistent despite the bright sunlight of summer, and Georgette felt that just maybe she could learn to like it here.

“Hello!”

Suddenly distracted from her sightseeing, Georgette looked down to see a small, rather oddly shaped shunting engine rolling over to her with a train of debris loaded trucks in tow. From the soft whirr of the engine’s motors, he must have been electric, though he did not appear to have any pantographs. How odd, perhaps there was some kind of batteries involved? The island certainly didn't have a third rail laid to provide power from underneath.

“I’m Stafford.” The electric shunting engine introduced, uncoupling from the train so that he could move around to the rear. “You must be the new engine.”

“I am.” Georgette rocked a bit on her wheels as the train was buffered up to her, her driver getting out to couple her up. “And you are. . . a battery powered engine?”

“That’s me. I was the only electric engine on the island before you.” Stafford said proudly. “I’ve been working on the tunnel project to get it ready.”

“Well, it’s lovely.” Georgette complimented, impressed such a small engine had done so much. In preparation to head back to Sodor, Georgette raised her forwards pantograph until it contacted the centenary, then lowered her rear one so that she could head back the other way. As she did so, her face disappeared from one end of the engine to reappear on the other. A common ability for double-ended engines, but rare on Sodor. “Goodbye, Stafford. I’m sure I’ll see you again!”

The line of trucks giggled as they realized they were being pulled by a new engine. One who didn’t know about their tricks and pranks. They immediately began to surge at their couplings with cries of “on, on, faster, faster!” as the track sloped downwards towards the tunnel entrance. 

“Oooof,” Georgette frowned as she felt her train pushing her forwards. “Faster, then? Alright.”

The trucks laughed as they picked up speed. Their amusement died, though, when they realized that their engine wasn’t struggling or throwing on her brakes in fear. Instead, she was going faster. And faster. Until the trucks were flying down the tracks at speed higher than they had ever gone before. Suddenly, things weren't quite so funny to the Troublesome Trucks.

 

On Sodor, Gordon was smiling smugly as he rolled to a halt at Wellsworth station with the Express. Edward, already there with his own passenger train, whistled a greeting to the larger blue engine. Before Gordon could respond, though, both engines were distracted by a loud screaming sound. 

A red blur blew past them both, an unfamiliar locomotive pulling a line of terrified trucks at speeds rivaled only by the island’s express engines. It could only be the new electric engine, for there was no sound of chuffing steam or the rumble of diesel. But neither of them could fathom just why she was going so fast with a goods train. Edward and Gordon stared after the strange sight as engine and train disappeared down the tracks. 

"The hell was that?" Gordon grumbled and pulled away, not entirely sure he appreciated this new addition to the mainline. 

Reaching Knapford, Georgette slowed down and came to a halt in the yard beyond the city station. The trucks panted and groaned, still coming down off of their terror high. 

“How is that for fast?” The GG-1 grinned as a steam shunter came over to take the train. 

Her amusement was slightly tempered, however, by the approach of the Fat Controller. The railway owner didn’t seem to think the situation was quite as funny. 

“I thought I told you to be careful?” The man asked sternly, looking over at the cowed trucks who where wimpering over their pained axles and overheated bearings. 

“I was quite careful, sir.” Georgette asserted, “I did not even reach my rated maximum freight speed.”

“This is not America. Our trains do not have continuous braking.” Sir Topham was just glad nothing had gone wrong and no one had been hurt. “We run slow goods trains here. Emphasis on slow.”

“Yes sir.” Georgette pretended to act properly chastised until her new owner seemed satisfied and left. Going slow was a bit boring, sure, but she didn’t think she’d have any more trouble from the troublesome trucks. 

 

Georgette’s little stunt was the talk of the railway for the rest of the day. Even Edward indulged in a little gossip, as he was one of the few who had seen it first-hand. But by the time of his evening passenger train, and after several re-tellings, the blue engine was beginning to flag. 

“Why don’t we head back to the shed?” Charlie suggested as passengers unloaded at their last stop at Brendam docks. “Emily can handle the last train of the night.”

“Shed sounds nice.” Edward agreed. Usually he liked to linger after his runs, talk with friends and catch up on the latest news. Today, though, he was far too tired. Lately his energy had waxed and waned, feeling fine one day and exhausted the next. Today was definitely a low day. Emily would have no trouble taking his last train, the emerald engine was turning out to be a very eager worker on the branch line. And after taking the train, Edward knew, she would go over to Pirates Cove to sit and talk with Lillie the Lightship for awhile. Emily clearly was trying to be secretive about it, but Edward knew everything that happened on his branch line.

Unsurprisingly, Edward was the first engine back to Tidmouth. He was earlier than normal, it would be a couple hours before anyone else returned. Edward left his coaches on the siding next to the sheds and backed into his usual stall, then transferred over to his human body and climbed down from the rear-most coach. 

“How are you feeling?” Charlie was there to take his arm and help him down, having left Sidney to take care of cleaning out the firebox. 

“Tired.” Edward admitted, gratefully taking his driver’s hand as they walked towards the back room of the shed. “Not like I want to sleep. Just want to sit down for awhile. Sorry I couldn’t take the last train.”

“It’s fine. You’re going to be more tired than usual. Especially with the kind of schedule you keep.” Charlie felt a little bad for how hard they worked the engines, though he knew they enjoyed being kept busy. The driver made a mental note to ask the Fat Controller about getting him a little more time off. 

Edward carefully sank down onto his bed and immediately flopped over backwards. Finally, he felt all of the tension leave his body as he sank down into the forgiving surface. He just wanted to stay there for awhile and not move again, but did manage to muster up enough energy to change to pajamas and out of his less comfortable day clothes. 

“Well, I have to go.” Charlie was a little reluctant to leave Edward at the shed alone for a few hours, but equally wanted to get home to his wife. “If you want something to do, I did leave you some books there at the end of the bed to read. You know how to use the phone to reach me if anything happens, right?”

“Yes, driver. Thank you.” Edward had been shown how to use the telephone in the converted break room, and his driver’s phone number was helpfully stuck to the wall next to the receiver. 

Once his driver had left, Edward continued to lay on the bed and stare at the ceiling of the of small room. Both his hands found their way down to his belly, where soft movements could be felt. Clearly, the baby wasn’t tired even if he was. The little one always seemed to be more active at night, which was probably one of the reasons Edward had found himself getting more and more tired lately.

After a little bit, Edward managed to shift far enough to reach over and grab one of the books sitting at the end of the bed. His driver had helpfully picked up a variety of books on pregnancy, which the blue engine figured he should probably at least browse to get a better idea of what was going on in his body. 

Unfortunately, reading while laying flat on his back was not going to be an option. With a grunt of effort, Edward pushed himself into a sitting position and arranged the pillows to help support his back as he settled down to read. 

Though the books weren’t too technical, they were still thick with information. Engines were not fast readers in general, and being blind in one eye didn’t do Edward any favors as he slowly turned the pages. The print was at least decently sized, but Edward kept getting thrown off by the liberal use of “mother” and “women.” Neither of which were words he applied to himself. 

Fortunately, there were plenty of illustrations to linger over where words weren’t enough. There was one series of pictures that Edward couldn’t help but stare at. Drawings of a pregnant person, belly see-through to show the baby inside, during each week of pregnancy. Locating the illustration for “20 weeks,” Edward stared down at his own belly. 

“Is that what you look like in there?” He murmured, rubbing at his side where he could feel the baby shifting. 

It was then, of course, that the door to the room flew open with a bang. Edward startled and looked up, instinctively wrapped arms around his middle, but relaxed when he saw it was only James. 

“Evening!” James pushed his way in behind his partner, shifting and adjusting until Edward’s back was pressed against his chest. “What’re you reading?”

Edward allowed the manhandling with his usual patience, settling into the new position. Instead of saying anything, the blue engine simply held up his book with its pictures. 

“Huh,” James reached around and flipped a couple of pages, looking at the drawings. “So you’re really going to get that big?”

“It does say that the most weight is gained in the last few months.” Edward grimaced a bit at the thought. He was already starting to feel the strain of the extra bulk at his waist, hips and lower back always sore by the end of the day. He couldn’t imagine growing even larger. 

“You’ll be quite round indeed.” James said with amusement, resting his chin on his partner’s shoulder. 

“Yes, thank you, James.” Edward continued to read his book, the red engine watching over his shoulder, but soon had to close it and set it aside. His eye was starting to feel the strain, and besides that he had the distinct feeling that there was something more James wanted to say. “So. How was your day?”

“Well. I met that new electric engine today.” James began. “Georgette?”

“Ah, yes. The one who pulled the incident with the trucks.” Edward chuckled. “Gordon and I saw her blow through Wellsworth with the train. I’m sure the Fat Controller was quite cross.”

“Well, at least someone showed those damn trucks who’s in charge.” James grumbled, wrapping his arms a little tighter around his partner. “But. I don’t really think we need another red engine on the mainline.”

“Is that what this is about?” Edward shifted so he could look his partner in the eyes. “There are other red engines on the island. You don’t have a problem with Victor, or Skarloey and Rheneas.”

“Well, they’re narrow gauge engines.” James had never really seen the smaller engines as a threat to his claim as “most splendid red engine.” They worked on a separate, less important railway, after all. “But this is a mainline engine. And she insulted my paintwork today! Called it too bright. This from an engine who’s red is more like rust than anything else.”

Edward gave a somewhat exasperated sigh. It was always the small things that bothered James. “I thought you were proud of being such a bright shade of red? And Georgette is a nice shade too, just much darker. They’re really not the same at all.” 

“Yes, but-“ James couldn’t think of any actual protests, though. 

“You’re still my red engine.” Edward gave his partner a kiss. “Now, could you grab me another one of these books? Now that you’re here, you can read aloud to me.”

James dutifully moved and grabbed another book off the top of the stack. “How many books did your driver get, anyway? And why do I have to read aloud?”

“Driver got as many as he could from the library, I think.” Edward settled back again, taking the book and opening it up in his lap. “And you get to read aloud to me because I have a headache from reading. Besides that, I read that the baby can hear what is going on outside. They’ve heard plenty of my voice, they should hear yours too.”

“I do have a very nice voice,” James agreed, flipping through a few pages until he found something that looked interesting and began to read. It was probably a good idea for him to read a bit of this stuff as well so that he could find out more about what his partner was going through. Just in case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: the GG-1 was rated to haul freight at a maximum speed of up to 90 mph. (and passengers up to 100). I just really wanted to imagine the troublesome trucks going that fast and being terrified out of their little minds.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We found out a little about James' past, why not get a little backstory on Edward too?
> 
> . . . also, I may have gotten a bit schmoopy. I'd apologize, but I'm not sorry. There's always room for drama in another chapter.

Though it had taken a few days longer than he expected, Archie Binns had finally managed to get at least a short interview with every engine on the Island of Sodor. His notes had then been organized by how relevant they were to his project, and he marked down the names and numbers of the engines he wanted to follow up with. Things were just getting started. 

Archie’s next project was to find out more about the early lives of engines, particularly what their first memories were like. Ideally, he had hoped to be on hand for the first awakening of an engine, but such an event was becoming more rare and all of the locomotive builders in Britain had denied his requests. 

So instead, Archie set about finding engines in their down time to ask a few questions. First was Gordon, because he knew that the big, blue engine loved nothing more than to talk about himself. The result of that conversation was, somewhat illuminating about Gordon’s character, if not particularly useful for his project. As an experimental prototype, he had never actually been used in commercial service before coming to Sodor. However, he had been the darling of his creator during his testing phase and had proudly watched the creation of his first siblings drawn from his own plans. 

Archie did, at least, get a few of his own theories confirmed. Gordon had seen several steam engines come alive while in the shop, and had stated with utmost confidence that the first moment of life was when an engine’s fire was lit for the first time. Archie thanked Gordon for the information and left wondering when life started for diesel and electric engines. 

With this in mind, Archie caught a ride to Wellsworth with the intention of talking with the kind, young diesel that worked the branch line. He was distracted, though, when he saw that the elderly blue engine that ran the Wellsworth-Brendam branch line was on a break. Never one to waste an opportunity, Archie opened to a fresh page in his notebook and walked over towards the small park next to the Wellsworth yards. 

Edward had just finished up his lunch when he looked up to see the student doing his research paper coming his way. Quickly, Edward balled up the trash from his food and tucked it back into his lunch box. “Driver?”

“I see him.” Charlie put a smile on his face. “Hey, Archie, right? What can we do for you?”

“Hi! You must be one of the drivers.” Archie politely held out his hand for a shake. “I’m just doing some more interviews with the engines. Do you have a bit of time?”

Edward looked to his driver, who shrugged. Normally, once he was done with lunch, Edward went for a walk to get his exercise in for the day. But, the Fat Controller had asked them to help out the student with his project, and the young man seemed awfully nice.

“I have some time.” Edward nodded, figuring it couldn’t hurt to leave out the walk for just one day. “What would you like to know?”

Delighted, Archie took a seat on a bench and pulled out a small tape recorder. Sometimes, it was difficult to write notes fast enough to keep up, so he liked to have audio backups of the interviews. “I’m hoping to hear about your time before Sodor. What is your earliest memory, and what was your life like on your home railway?”

“Oh dear. That was a long time ago,” Edward chuckled a little as he tried to remember just what his youngest days were like. “I was the first of a new class of express engines built for the Furness railway. . .”

\--

 

The Furness 21 Class of locomotives were intended to replace the smaller, less powerful 120, or Seagull, class for larger, important trains. In early 1896 the very first of the class, engine number 20, had its fire lit for the first time. 

In the enormous engine works, men stopped what they were doing to watch their newest engine build steam. Though all of them had seen an engine come alive before, the moment of ‘awakening’ was always a special one. 

A worker carefully coaxed the fires up in the engine’s firebox, until the whole engine seemed to sigh and shift on its frame. The shining black smokebox door shimmered, before a grey face faded into view. The engine opened its eyes, looking around at the gathered humans curiously. 

The works foreman came over, observing the new engine with satisfaction. No one knew quite what brought engines to life, but he knew that Furness preferred their engines that way and was glad to see the first of the latest class would continue that tradition. “Hello, engine 20. How do you feel?”

“Feel?” The engine repeated, a slight frown furrowing its new face. “I feel . . . okay? Warm?”

“No aches or pains?” The foreman prompted. 

“No. I feel . . . good.” Engine 20 slowly relaxed into its new body, a smile pulling at its lips. 

“Grand.” The foreman clapped his hands together, pleased. “You will be a good example to your younger siblings, yes? They should be finished in the next few days.”

Engine 20 looked over to the next few engine bays, where several other locomotives sat nearly complete. All looked just the same, and engine 20 realized it must look the same as well. 

 

Over the next couple days, the other engines were finsished and fired up. Engine 20 watched with delight as its siblings came to life, unique faces forming on their smokeboxes. Happily, the eldest shared all the little tidbits of information about their new soon-to-be home that the workers had let spill over the last few days. 

With a total of seven 21 class engines finished, they were delivered to the Furness railway. The group was quickly dubbed “Larger Seagulls” for their resemblance to the smaller class of engines they were replacing, and set about making themselves useful. 

Experienced drivers of the Furness railway were assigned to the latest class of locomotive, proud to be in charge of the newest express engines. Engine 20 smiled sincerely when an older human walked into the shed wearing the uniform of the Furness railway, determined to make a good impression. 

“Well then, you’re a fine looking engine.” The man complimented, looking over his new assignment with interest. His last engine had been a rather surly, poor-tempered thing, and the driver hoped this one would be a little more agreeable. 

“Oh, thank you sir.” The smile on the engine’s face only broadened. “I am Engine 20. Are you my new driver?”

“That I am. My name is John.” The driver knew that his engine would never remember that, but felt it polite to introduce himself anyway. “We can’t keep calling you by a number. Maybe today we’ll find you a name.”

“Oh, a name would be wonderful.” Engine 20 had already met many engines who had actual names, and was very excited at the idea of receiving one.

Over the course of the day, John was very satisfied with his new engine. 20 was a hard worker, if a bit shy, and didn’t have the immaturity that many young engines seemed to have. An ‘old soul,’ if such a thing existed for locomotives. By the end of the work day, John bestowed the engine with the name “Edward,” for a wise old neighbor he’d had in his childhood. It perhaps wasn’t an exciting name like some of the other Furness locomotives had, but Edward was happy to have it. 

The Larger Seagull engines remained very close, a proud class that pulled only the best of trains. This despite the fact that they had occasional steaming trouble. With six foot driving wheels, the largest so far on the Furness railway, they could go very fast indeed but sometimes had trouble maintaining enough steam for such work. Their boilers and firebox just didn’t have the capacity, and they all required a little more work and care to operate at their full potential. 

As the first of the class, Edward had a little more trouble than his siblings. Sometimes other engines of the railway teased him, but the other Larger Seagulls closed ranks and defended their eldest sibling fiercely. Nobody teased one of their own. 

Of course, no class of engine stays on top forever. Only four years passed before the railway decided the Larger Seagulls just weren’t big or strong enough. Desperate for new engines, two more Larger Seagulls were ordered along with four engines of an even bigger, stronger class. The two new siblings were greeted warmly by the seven already working, but it was tempered by the arrival of the new class of engines. Who quickly replaced the Larger Seagulls as the biggest, best express engines. 

Edward and his siblings were put to more and more goods work, and an even better, newer passenger engine class was built. So was the way of railways, replacing old models with the latest and greatest. And after only ten years, he was an old model. Teasing about Edward’s steaming problems, and that of his siblings, only got more common. Older models were easier fodder for gossip and insults. 

The one advantage Edward found was that, as he was moved around from job to job, he got to spend time with other engines outside his class. Ones older than he by decades, who had advice and stories to share. Edward drank in their words eagerly, promising to save the tales for future engines once the original tellers were gone. It was not uncommon for Edward to spend the night with his elders and awake to find one had passed on in the night. Many of the old engines were scheduled for scrapping, and after sharing their life’s story with an eager listener chose to go peacefully rather than face the scrapper’s torch. 

As time went on, Edward found it more difficult to do his work. Trains were getting longer and heavier, and his issues with shy steaming had not improved any since his manufacture. He was nervous, then, when his controller approached him one day with news. He was being leant to another railway, without any of his siblings or friends, for an indefinite period of time. 

“Are you sure, sir?” Edward asked cautiously. 

“Of course.” The railway owner dismissed the engine’s concerns. “The Northwestern Railway has requested a medium sized mixed-traffic engine to assist in the building of their railway. You will do much better there than here.”

Secretly, Edward thought that maybe the man was just getting rid of him. But even if that was true, when he was unloaded from a ship on the Island of Sodor he couldn’t bring himself to care. This new railway was beautiful, even if the work was hard. There weren’t any other engines for him to talk to, though Edward heard tell that there were some elsewhere on the island on other lines, but then there also wasn’t anyone to tease him either. The engine threw himself into his work instead, determined to make a good showing for the railway who was borrowing him.

Edward had been on the island for months, and wondered just when he would be going back home, when he got new orders. The Northwestern Railway was so proud of his work they had decided to buy him. Edward was immediately sent to the locomotive works on the island for a rebuild, the Fat Controller who owned the railway having made plans to solve his shy steaming troubles once and for all. 

When Edward emerged from the works, he looked very different from when he had gone in. He was now very little like his siblings, his red paint replaced by a shade of blue instead, and he had received a new tender better suited to his new home as well. Edward felt stronger now, more capable of his work, but was also a little sad that he no longer resembled the siblings that he had loved. 

It took several years for Edward to appreciate that his purchase by the Northwestern and subsequent rebuild had probably saved him from scrapping. As the railway bought more engines, stronger and newer than Edward, he sat in the sheds and heard the news that all of his siblings had been scrapped. He was now the last Larger Seagull. There was no one around to see him cry for his loss. Later that night, the other engines who stayed at Tidmouth sheds told Edward he was better off scrapped, and the older engine knew they were right. Better to join his siblings now than to rot in the shed. 

But the inevitable never came. Against all odds, the Northwestern continued to repair him. To keep him in service, and even give him his own branch line. It took a while for Edward to stop thinking of his lost siblings, but eventually he acknowledged that maybe he still had good to do in the world. People to help, trains to pull, and younger engines to guide. 

\----

Edward sighed and clasped his hands in his lap, smiling a little through the tears that pricked at his eyes. He hadn’t thought that much about his siblings in years. They had all been a bit stuck-up and conceited, but ultimately cared sincerely for each other. “I am glad I’m still around. Even after so many years.” Edward, after decades of ups and downs, felt glad for the life that he had. “I have so many friends on the railway now, even if they tease me sometimes, and I can be here for James.”

Archie was looking at the old engine with fascination, so many questions brewing in his mind. His notebook was covered in messy, half-completed sentences, haphazardly underlined and circled in his excitement. “James? Oh, I think I read about you in that news article a couple years ago. James is your. . . boyfriend?”

“My partner.” Edward said gently, “Yes. We’ve been together almost two years. Apparently, James has liked me for a very long time. Since he arrived on Sodor a few years after I did. But he couldn’t say anything about it until recently.”

“I see.” Archie added another note to re-read that old article and hopefully have a talk with James. “Now-“

“Sorry to interrupt,” Charlie cut Archie off before the student could ask another question. “I’m afraid it’s time for the next train.”

“Of course, of course.” Archie could sit and talk to Edward all day, but knew that he wasn’t allowed to let his research interfere with the operation of the railway. “Thank you for talking with me. I’ll see if I can track down someone else with some free time. Goodbye!” And with that, he headed back for the platform at Wellsworth to hop whatever mainline train passed through next. 

 

As the student left, Charlie looked over at Edward with a bit of concern. He had always suspected Edward had experienced hardship in his long life, but never had he heard the blue engine talk about it. “Are you alright for the next train, Edward?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” Edward finally gave into the urge to place a hand against the outward curve of his belly, where he could feel his baby moving and shifting around. The little one had started acting up while he had been talking, but Edward had resisted rubbing at his middle while Archie was there. He still wasn’t sure if he wanted to tell the student researcher what was going on or not. The movement of the small life he carried helped Edward remember that he was needed in the here and now,“Talking about the past is hard sometimes, but I know things are better now.”

“If you ever want to talk about anything. Me and Sid are here for you.” Charlie felt the need to say it once more. “I- I hope we’ve been a good crew for you.”

“You’re the best crew I’ve ever had.” Edward said earnestly as they walked towards where his real body was sitting on a siding. “You and fireman have helped me with so much. Being my eyes when I was blinded. Supporting me and James. And now, with the baby.” His eyes burned, tears falling no matter how hard he tried to keep them in. Part of being pregnant, Edward had discovered, meant getting over-emotional about anything and everything. “I wish I had a way to thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank us, Edward.” Charlie pulled the engine into a one-armed hug. “We’re your crew, that’s what we’re here for. Now, come on. Let’s go take the 1 pm local.”

 

Later that day, after stopping to talk with a few other engines, Archie managed to track down a certain red engine having a rest between trains. The graduate student walked over eagerly, notebook and tape recorder in hand. 

“Hello, I was hoping you might have a moment to answer a few questions?” 

James looked down at the young human curiously. He was always eager to talk about himself, and didn’t mind being the center of attention at all. “Of course. I imagine you want to know more about why I am my wonderful self?”

“A little bit.” Archie said with an amused grin. “Actually, I was hoping to talk to you a little bit about your relationship. I talked a bit with Edward earlier today.”

“M-my relationship?” James stuttered a bit in surprise. A familiar fear curled in the back of his mind. “What about it?”

“I was hoping you could tell me why you love Edward.” Archie clicked on his tape recorder, hoping he would get a good answer. Part of the goal of his paper was to try and prove that living machines were fully sentient and feeling, like people, and was desperately curious what drove them to love when they had no need for reproduction like humans did. 

“Oh.” James blushed red. He’d never been asked that before, and wasn’t quite sure how to put how he felt into words. It was a rare thing for James to speak highly of engines besides himself, but he figured he could manage it for the sake of his partner. “Well. How could I not? Edward is. . . amazingly kind. And patient, he has to be to deal with those twin terrors on his branch line. But he doesn’t let the others get to him. Even. Even after we made fun of him and insulted him for so many years. He never lost his sense of humor.”

James trailed off, no longer looking at Archie but instead staring at something unseen in the distance. The student researcher clicked off his tape recorder, feeling that he had gotten more than he had hoped for. 

“Thank you, James.” Archie stood, putting his things back into his small satchel. “I’ll let you get back to your work.”

As the young man left, Rick got down from his engine’s cab and walked around to his front. “Are you okay, James?”

The red engine’s gaze shifted down to the smaller form of his driver, looking up at him with some concern. “Yes. Of course. I’m always fine. I’m fabulous.”

Knowing he wouldn’t get anything more out of his engine, Rick shook his head and got back into the cab. 

 

James wasn’t really fine, though. For the rest of the day, his mind was caught up in a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. This wasn’t entirely unusual, he often swung from overly confident show-off to insecure mess and back again, and this time at least managed to finish his jobs for the day without damaging himself or anyone else. 

Once back at Tidmouth sheds, James immediately headed for the back room where he knew Edward would be waiting. Quietly pushing open the door, he was greeted by the sight of his partner sitting in bed with another pregnancy book open in his lap. Rather than push his way into his partner’s space, James gently sat down on the edge of the mattress. This was enough of a departure from his normal that Edward closed his book and set it aside. 

“Evening, James.” Edward pulled his partner closer for a kiss, but backed away when he didn’t reciprocate like he usually did. “Is something wrong?”

“Edward. You love me, right?” James asked seriously. He had been thinking about it all day, ever since talking with Archie. Since he had remembered just how awful he had been to Edward for so long. 

“Of course I do.” Edward tugged his partner closer, wrapping both arms around the red engine. Slowly, James relaxed in his partner’s embrace. “I am thankful every day to have you, James.”

“Even though I was awful to you?” James asked softly. 

“It was a long time ago.” Edward reassured, suddenly understanding where the red engine was coming from. Clearly, Archie had been asking other engines about their pasts as well. “I won’t pretend it didn’t hurt then, because it did. But I don’t blame you for it. And I know you’d never do it again.”

“Never.” James agreed, hugging his partner a little tighter until Edward made a muffled sound of discomfort. Immediately, James pulled back. “Sorry, did I-?”

“It’s alright,” Edward shifted to a better position. “You were just a little too hard on my middle.”

Now that James was aware of it, he could feel the way that the firm swell of Edward’s belly was pressing into his own. He’d almost forgotten about the new life his partner was carrying, what they had made together. “I’m sorry. Is the baby okay?”

“They’re fine,” Edward laughed a little, reaching over James to pick up his neglected book. “Now, how about reading me some of the next chapter? I think the baby likes the sound of your voice.”

James grinned, taking the book and opening it up to the bookmarked page. “Well, I can’t disappoint them, can I?”


	17. Chapter 17

Sunday mornings at Brendam Docks were always slow, even in the summer. As Porter shunted a few empty trucks onto a siding, his thoughts were with his partner Timothy. He was sure more than ever that the little oil-burning engine was hiding something from him, and it was clear that whatever was going on was tearing Timothy apart. Never had Porter seen the smaller tank engine so exhausted or short-tempered. 

Deciding that he couldn’t let this go on for any longer, Porter asked Salty to handle whatever traffic came through the docks and headed for the Clay Pits. Timothy probably wouldn’t expect him to come up so early in the day, and maybe that was for the best. He wouldn’t have time to prepare excuses. 

Arriving at the Clay Pits, Porter returned the greetings of Bill and Ben somewhat distractedly and settled himself by the oil refueling station to wait for Timothy. It didn’t take long, a sweet little whistle preceding the arrival of the oil-burning engine at the fueling station. Timothy screeched to a halt when he spotted Porter there waiting for him, but the blue tank engine’s driver urged him forward until he was alongside the oil tank. 

“Timothy. I’m worried about you.” Porter said without preamble. “Please, I know something is wrong. We can talk here, or in human form, but we need to talk.”

“I-“ Timothy suddenly cringed at something unseen, and Porter was surprised to see a few tears fall from his eyes. “I’m sorry, Porter. I just. I don’t know what’s wrong with me!”

A few human workers turned to stare at Timothy’s outburst, and Porter tried to put on his most comforting expression, “It’s okay. How about we go somewhere private and talk about it. You have a little time, right?”

“I-I have to go assist Marion. She needs-“ Timothy attempted to back away, but his driver put his brakes hard on. 

The human leaned out the cab window, keeping a hand on the brake lever so that his engine couldn’t release it. “Timothy, I know you won’t talk to me. At least go talk with your friend here. You haven’t been working right lately anyway. Bill and Ben can pull their weight for a little bit.”

Timothy grimaced, wincing again. But his driver wouldn’t let him leave, and Porter seemed determined to stay right there until he gave in. “Okay. Let’s go to the breakroom. There shouldn’t be anyone there this time of day. I- I’ll meet you there.” His face vanished from the smokebox, but no stocky human figure came down from the cab. Porter frowned in confusion, but agreeably went over to the breakroom. 

The building was indeed empty, the human workers all out performing their various tasks at the clay pits, but Porter still gently closed the door behind him. No one was in the coat room, or the mess hall. Porter wandered about the building, hoping this hadn’t been some kind of trick to ditch him, when a door labeled “storage closet” creaked open and Timothy peered out from behind it. 

“There you are.” Porter smiled, walking over, but Timothy didn’t move from behind the door. “How did you get in there?”

“Uh, well.” Timothy bit his lip. “Actually. I don’t know what happened. But ever since we turned human, I can’t turn back. I leave my body in here while I’m working so nobody finds it.”

The explanation came out in a rush, but what Porter heard concerned him. And sounded maybe a little familiar.“What do you mean, you can’t turn back?”

“I can’t!” Timothy cried. “This body just ends up lying around whenever I’m not using it. It won’t go away. And I have to eat food because I get hungry and I just can’t stop.” The oil-burning engine cringed again, crouching down a little and closing his eyes. 

“Timothy! Are you hurt?” Porter pulled open the door the rest of the way and wrapped his arms around his partner. He couldn’t be angry anymore, not when Timothy was so clearly scared. 

“I don’t know.” Timothy had his arms pressed tight around his abdomen. “It doesn’t really hurt. But. Something isn’t right.”

Porter gently pulled Timothy’s arms away, eyes widening when he saw what was revealed. Suddenly, everything made far too much sense. 

“Oh, Timothy.” Porter breathed, placing a hand over the very round belly Timothy had developed. He could feel a fluttering sensation against his palm, as though something was moving inside. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I- I didn’t know what to do.” Timothy admitted. “I was alright at first. A little sick, kind of dizzy. But then, several weeks ago, I noticed that I was getting bigger. I didn’t want you to see, to get worried. Just a few days ago, I think there’s something moving inside me. I don’t know what it is.”

“I’m always going to worry about you, Timothy. That’s why you need to talk to me.” Porter gave his partner a little kiss on the forehead. “And, as for what is going on. I think. I think maybe you’ve got a baby in there.”

“A- a what?” Timothy looked up at Porter with some confusion. He hadn’t left the Clay Pits in months, isolating himself so thoroughly he had very little idea of what was going on across the rest of the railway. 

“You didn’t hear, but the exact same thing happened to Edward. His human form wouldn’t go away. We didn’t realize, but when humans are intimate. That’s how they make babies. And we’re capable of it too, while human at least.” Porter gave into the urge to rub slow circles over Timothy’s swollen abdomen, “We need to tell the Fat Controller, and then get you to see a human doctor.”

“The Fat Controller?” Timothy looked up at his partner with some trepidation, having trouble absorbing all of this new information. “But, he’ll tell my owner! And- and I can’t have a baby!”

“Shhh.” Porter easily lifted the smaller engine into his arms, “It’ll be fine. I told you, the same thing happened to Edward. And he is doing fine. On restricted duty, but fine. Now come on, I know that there’s a human doctor that sees Edward on Sundays, and if we hurry we can catch him at the docks before he goes to Knapford for his appointment.”

It didn’t seem that Timothy had much choice. The blue tank engine’s crew stared as Porter walked outside and very gently set him back down next to the tracks. It was his driver, Raman, who noticed the extra weight the engine was carrying about his waist. “Timothy?”

“He is fine.” Porter provided. “But he needs to see a human doctor. We need to try and get to Brendam and catch Edward before he leaves.”

Raman looked to his engine as Timothy climbed up into the cab. “What’s going on?”

“Porter thinks that. Uh. That I might be having a baby.” Timothy managed, leaning back against the wall of his water tank. Both driver and fireman continued to stare at him. “Can you drive? If I leave my human form, it’ll just collapse here.”

“A baby?” The fireman managed in a somewhat strangled voice. 

“We can drive.” Raman answered, elbowing the fireman. As Porter started off down the track ahead of them, Raman released the brake and nudged the throttle forwards. Timothy hardly noticed, leaning heavily against the back wall of his cab with both arms wrapped tightly around his middle. 

 

At Brendam docks, Edward had just arrived with his morning train and was offloading passengers at the platform. He had a few minutes of break scheduled before heading back to Knapford for his appointment with Alicia, so after all the passengers had left he took a seat on the edge of the platform to have a light snack. Edward was eating smaller amounts more frequently, because as the baby got bigger the amount of space inside him for food got smaller. It wasn’t much of a problem yet, but might as well get used to the change now. 

“Edward, Edward!” Porter suddenly rushed into the docks, blowing his whistle. Behind him was Timothy, though the oil-burning engine didn’t actually seem to be in his body at the moment. Very strange to see an engine running ‘blank,’ so to speak. “Thank goodness we caught you, Edward.”

“Oh my.” Edward quickly stowed the remainder of his snack. “What’s wrong, Porter? Why did you need to catch me?”

“Timothy needs to see a doctor. I was hoping we’d catch you before your appointment.” Porter glanced about, making sure nobody was around who would overhear. “He’s, well, got a . . . similar problem. To yours.”

“Similar problem? You mean-“ Edward looked over towards Timothy with some surprise. 

“Perhaps we should talk more inside one of your coaches?” Porter suggested, aware that nothing said outside at the docks was private. 

“Yes, of course.” Edward opened the door to his rear-most coach and stepped inside to where he had a small nest, of sorts, in the back. Porter followed, with Timothy trailing somewhat sheepishly behind him. 

“Now, what’s this about a problem?” Edward sat down on the bench, shifting to tuck a small pillow behind his back. 

Timothy sat down across from the blue engine and slowly unwrapped his arms from around his body, face turning red. “I haven’t been able to get rid of my human form in months. And now, well. My stomach is getting bigger and I think I can feel something moving inside.”

“So I see.” Edward’s eyes widened a bit as he took in the rather familiar shape of Timothy’s midsection. “Well, you’re welcome to come with me to the doctor’s. The doctor I’ve been seeing is my driver’s daughter, and she’s very kind.”

“Do you think the Fat Controller will be mad?” Though Timothy wasn’t actually owned by the Northwestern Railway, Sir Topham had a hand in the lives of all the engines on the island and was usually the one who served out discipline. 

“Of course not.” Edward smiled reassuringly. “The Fat Controller has been very helpful to me so far. Even if he put me on reduced duty. I didn’t appreciate that a month ago, but now I realize it’s not so bad. Building a baby is very tiring.”

“Yes. I’ve noticed.” Timothy rubbed at his eyes, which had dark circles under them. He had been so tired lately, but work at the Clay Pits started early in the morning and extended into the evening. 

A knock on the wall of the carriage got their attention moments before Edward’s driver stepped into the cabin. He looked between the three engines with a raised eyebrow before focusing on his own. “Come on, Edward. We have to get to Knapford. If we don’t leave now, we’ll be late.”

“Sorry, driver. Timothy and Porter here need to come with us. Is that alright?”

“Come with us?” Usually, the only other engine who accompanied them to the appointments was James. Who was probably waiting impatiently at Knapford for them. “Why?”

“I think I might be pregnant.” Timothy provided. He figured, if he said it often enough he might eventually get used to the idea. 

Charlie seemed lost for words for a moment, before shaking his head. “Right. Of course. You might as well come along.” He walked out of the coach muttering. He had told Sam this might happen. There was going to be a good, long talk about condom usage later. And maybe another lecture.

 

Edward made a bit of a funny sight running along the rails with his empty coaches, a pair of small tank engines trailing along closely behind him. It was a rare thing for Porter to leave the docks, and even more unusual for Timothy to be seen outside the Clay Pits. None of them had time to stop and address the curious looks of the other engines, though, if they wanted to make it to Knapford on time. 

 

Though he tried to make good time, it was simply fact that Porter and Timothy were not as fast as Edward was. By the time they reached the Knapford yards, they were running a bit behind schedule. 

“Edward, there you are!” James exclaimed when he saw his partner roll in. “You’re late. Did something happen? And why have you brought those two?”

“Nothing’s wrong, James. I just got a bit . . . distracted.” Edward reassured. He moved over to his human form and carefully climbed down from the coach, Timothy following him. Soon, all four engines were standing in the gravel ballast next to the tracks. “Timothy here is having a bit of trouble and is coming with us to the doctor.”

“Why?” James looked Timothy up and down critically. He had never seen the tank engine’s human form before, and didn’t immediately notice the extra weight he was carrying. James did notice, however, the way Timothy was resting one hand against the curve of his abdomen. Similar to what Edward did whenever he was distracted, or feeling the baby kick. It took a minute, but the clues knitted together in James’ mind. “Wait. You’re not saying? Timothy? Who did he knock buffers with, then?” James looked over at Porter with a vague expression of horror. “Not you?”

“Yes, me.” Porter crossed his arms. James had never been terribly fond of him, probably because of Porter’s unending mission to tease James about fish and also because of the tank engine’s rather odd appearance, but was it really so surprising that he was in a relationship? “Edward knew Timothy and I were together.”

James looked over at his partner with surprise. He didn’t like being left out of the loop when it came to gossip. “Edward?”

“Yes, I knew.” Edward admitted, wrapping an arm around his partner’s waist. “But they asked to have it kept quiet, so I didn’t say anything. Don’t be rude, James.”

James huffed, but managed to refrain from saying anything else as Charlie came over to them. 

“Come on, lads.” The engine driver clapped his hands together to get their attention. “Alicia is probably wondering where we are. Let’s get walking.”

Despite how stressed and worried Timothy was, he still felt a sense of wonder as they walked through Knapford station and out into the town. He had never been inside a human city before, and was a bit awed by all the buildings and streets he could see. 

“Incredible, isn’t it?” Porter reached down and found Timothy’s hand, squeezing it comfortingly. “People have built so many things. At one time, there wasn’t anything here at all. Just trees and grass. And now, all this!”

Edward heard this and chuckled, looking back at Timothy. “And think. Humans built all of this, and now you and I are building humans.”

“I. I guess you’re right.” Timothy smiled at this, laughing a little bit. Things felt a little bit more positive as they arrived at the small, non-descript doctor’s clinic and went in through the back door. 

After several weeks of doing these check-ups, Alicia had settled comfortably into the routine. She was therefore very surprised when she opened the door to the examination room for them and found a pair of unfamiliar faces. “Uh. Hello. Who’re you?”

“This is Timothy and Porter.” Edward provided, introducing his friends. “Timothy here is hoping you can give him a check up.”

“I think Timothy is pregnant.” Porter pushed his partner forward a little bit. “Could you please make sure he’s alright?”

“I. uh. Okay.” Alicia didn’t quite know what to do except gesture for Timothy to get up on the table. The tank engine did so only a bit nervously, fiddling with the hem of his shirt where it had pulled out from his trousers. Alicia located a blank patient form and a pen. “Timothy, right? I just want to ask you a few questions. What year were you built?”

“1916.” Timothy provided. “But I didn’t come to Sodor until about fifteen years ago.”

“That’s fine.” Alicia wrote the date down. From his appearance, she guessed the age of his human form to be in maybe the late twenties. Fairly stout and a bit bulky, but looking to be fit and strong. The baby weight wasn’t quite as obvious as it was on Edward, but he was still visibly round about the middle. “Now, how long ago did you have sex?”

“Uh. ..” Timothy’s cheeks turned a bit pink. “It was when we turned human. So. Mid-April?”

“Well, then you should be just as far along as Edward is.” That would make things a little easier on Alicia, she could compare the experiences of the two to hopefully see what was ‘normal’ or not. She started a routine physical examination and didn’t find anything particularly concerning. But there was a thing or two that should probably be addressed. “Have you been sleeping alright? How many hours do you usually get?”

“Uh, a few hours?” Most living engines didn’t require large amounts of rest, though Timothy had been having more trouble than usual getting asleep. “I can’t seem to sleep in engine form, and my human form doesn’t like sleeping on the floor.”

“Sleeping on the floor?” Alicia looked at him with shock. He was five months pregnant and sleeping on the floor? “Well, we’ll have to do something about that right away. You need a bed. How much do you get to eat a day?”

“Well. . .” Timothy looked at the floor, not particularly proud of what he had been doing. “Usually I just take some food from the worker’s lunches.”

“Timothy!” Porter looked at his partner in shock. He hadn’t given much thought to where Timothy was getting his food, but certainly didn’t think he had resorted to stealing.

“They don’t know it’s me doing it.” Still, Timothy’s cheeks burned with shame. “At first, the men thought it was the twins playing some kind of joke. Now, though, they all bring a little extra and leave it out. I take it when the men are all out working and I’m on break.”

“You are going to need to eat more. A lot more. It’s not just you that you’re feeding, the baby needs it too.” Alicia tried to emphasize the importance of this to the oil-burning engine. “You’re going to want breakfast, lunch, and dinner. At least.”

He really hadn’t thought about that. “I- I haven’t hurt it, right? The baby?” If something had happened to the tiny life just because he didn’t know about it, and had been too scared to say anything, Timothy didn’t know what he’d do. 

“I don’t think so. Don’t worry.” Alicia forced herself to calm down. Timothy was not being intentionally neglectful, he was a steam engine who didn’t understand what human self-care entailed. “Here, how about we take a look and see how the baby is doing. You know what an ultrasound is, right?”

“Yes?” Any steam engine was at least passingly familiar with the device. He had certainly never seen one used on a human before, though. Timothy pulled up his shirt and let Alicia spread goop across his belly. The wand was pressed against his skin, and as the screen of the ultrasound flickered to life Porter moved to hold onto his partner’s hand. 

“Let’s see.” Alicia deftly manipulated the wand, having gotten much more adept at the ultrasound after several weeks of examining Edward. “Oh. Look, there we go. You seem to have a little baby boy. He’s a bit smaller than I would expect, but looks healthy.”

 

“Small?” Timothy’s eyes were glued to the screen, at the breathtaking sight of a tiny human. He could even make out little hands opening and closing. “Is. Is that bad?”

“Not right now. But you’ll have to take better care of yourself.” Alicia said gently. She had the ultrasound print a few pictures for the engine to have, then set the wand aside and handed Timothy a towel. “You need plenty of sleep, a nice bed to sleep in, and three meals a day.”

“I’ll make sure he gets it.” Porter reassured, taking the prints and helping Timothy down off the table. 

“We’ll talk to the Fat Controller after this.” Edward stood, letting Timothy take the seat he had occupied. James reluctantly copied him, allowing Porter to sit down too. 

While Edward was being examined, Timothy and Porter huddled over the prints from the machine. 

“That’s. That’s really inside me?” Timothy stared down at one of the pictures, a hand on his belly. He could still feel the baby moving a little bit. 

“I’m sorry.” Porter offered. He wrapped an arm around his partner’s shoulders. “I had no idea this would happen. But, you realize Bill and Ben are probably going to find out about this if you try to keep working at the Clay Pits.”

Timothy grimaced. Telling the twins his personal business wasn’t exactly high on his to-do list. 

“I’ll be with you every step of the way.” Porter promised. “And I bet we can get Edward to come too, if you like. You know the twins usually listen to him.”

“I’d be happy to come.” With his own ultrasound prints in hand, Edward sat up on the table and re-adjusted his shirt. He was, according to Alicia, doing very well. And growing quickly, which of course he already knew. “You’ve got friends, Timothy. And we’re happy to help. Now, let’s go talk to the Fat Controller.”

James and Porter, having reached their limits, had to go back to their true bodies to recover. It was just Timothy, Edward, and Charlie who went to face the Fat Controller. And, to Timothy’s surprise, his driver Raman. The man hadn’t been Timothy’s driver for very long, and the blue tank engine hadn’t realized that his driver really cared for him that much. 

When Sir Topham heard the news that another engine was pregnant, he sighed and rubbed his forehead. He loved running the Northwestern Railway, he really did, but sometimes this job was just a little crazy. Timothy wasn’t even one of his engines, he was owned by the Sodor China Clay Pits. Most of the companies on the island who owned engines let Sir Topham take care of managing them, more than happy to let him take the responsibility, but he would still have to negotiate with Timothy’s actual owner about this. Worst came to worst, he could always buy Timothy, but really didn’t want to have to resort to that.

“It’ll be alright, Timothy.” Sir Topham reassured, trying to calm down the clearly nervous engine. “Do you want to keep working at the Clay Pits, or would you rather take the next few months off?” 

“I want to keep working, sir.” Timothy was an engine who enjoyed his job, despite its hardships, he couldn’t imagine sitting around and doing nothing. “I just. Need a place to sleep that isn’t the floor and food to eat every day.”

“You look tired. Take the rest of the day off.” Sir Topham felt he could instruct that much at least. “I think we can find you a room on the Roxstar again to sleep in. And I’m sure we can get you regular meals. Then. Well, we’ll see about finding someone who wants to adopt a baby.”

“I will take it.” Raman spoke up suddenly, causing everyone else in the room to stare at him. “I mean. If that is okay with Timothy. My wife cannot have children, and I would be most honored to be allowed to raise the child of my friend.”

“Friend?” Timothy hadn’t realized his driver cared so much. Maybe, he should take more time to talk with his crew and get to know them better. “I. I should ask Porter. But, I think that would be nice.”

“I can also bring you food. I can easily pack more in my lunches, and there is a refridgerator at the Clay Pits to keep snacks in.” Raman had seen the relationship some of the other crews had with their engines, and hoped he could have that as well. Timothy was not going to be in for an easy time, and would need all the support he could get. 

“I told you things would be okay.” Edward put a hand on Timothy’s shoulder. “You have a place to sleep, food to eat, and people that care about you. Now, we just need to tell Bill and Ben. They’re going to notice if you take time off and need to take over some of your duties.”

Timothy grimaced at the idea of letting the twins do his work. Even if he usually ended up doing his own and most of theirs too. Actually, it would be nice payback to make them do some of his work for a little while. Assuming the Clay Pits didn’t go into chaos without him like last time. “Right. Tell Bill and Ben. You will help me with that, right?”

“I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh, surprise?


	18. Chapter 18

As it turned out, telling Bill and Ben about his relationship was not the worst experience of Timothy’s life. The two already knew about him and Porter being an item because, in their words, “Porter is completely incapable of being sneaky.” They had just been waiting to see how long Timothy and Porter could keep the act up before breaking. 

Bill and Ben also took the news of his pregnancy rather differently than expected. After a few days of dealing with the two, Timothy came down to the docks in the evening in a right foul mood. Porter couldn’t help but laugh a little inside as he saw the frown on his partner’s face, always finding the expression rather adorable. 

“Bill and Ben again?” Porter asked as he walked with Timothy up the boarding steps into the Roxstar. The oil-burning engine had been given a small, third class room to use as his own and Porter usually spent the evenings after the work was done with him. 

“They’re insufferable!” Timothy exclaimed. “They won’t let me do anything! It’s always ‘we’ll get that, Timothy. Let us pull those. Don’t work too hard, Timothy. Think of the baby, Timothy.’ I can’t stand it. I can still work just fine!”

“They’re just worried about you.” Porter chuckled as they got into the lift and descended down to the third-class deck. “It means they care. And at least they’re finally doing their share of the work.”

“Yes, but half the time they do it wrong and I have to go out and fix whatever happened anyway.” Timothy gave an exasperated sigh as he unlocked the door to his room and pushed it open. “I’m worried about what will happen when I can’t work anymore. What if there’s no Clay Pits to go back to?”

“Really, Timothy.” Now that they were alone Porter wrapped his arms around his partner and sat down on the berth, pulling Timothy down into his lap. “I’m sure the Clay Pits won’t go to ruin just because Bill and Ben have to work on their own for a few weeks. They did alright before you arrived on the island.”

“I’m not so sure of that. From the stories some of the other engines tell. . .” Despite his worries, Timothy slowly relaxed in Porter’s arms. “I don’t like not being able to do my work.”

“I think it will be good for Bill and Ben to get used to actually working. If they want to do your jobs for you, let them.” Porter advised. “You are doing work. The very hard work of making a baby.”

Timothy huffed, but couldn’t help a little smile. He did feel better now that he had a nice place to sleep and had been eating more often, but the baby still took a lot of his energy. The little blue engine was very grateful for the strong arms and comforting voice of his partner as he felt his eyes dragging closed. “Well, I’m still not going to let the twins take all my jobs.”

“I would expect nothing less.” Porter gently shifted Timothy down onto the bed, pulling up the blankets over him, and kept a watchful eye until the smaller tank engine was well asleep. 

 

 

Slowly but surely, summer on the Island of Sodor turned to fall. The leaves changed color to broad swathes of reds and golds, the days began to grow shorter, and the many holiday makers headed back to their homes. This meant fewer passenger trains to pull, which normally was cause for disappointment from the railway’s many engines. For once, though, Edward was rather glad for the reduction in traffic. He had just entered the sixth month of his pregnancy and it was really starting to affect him. Edward’s usual clothing no longer fit him, waistcoat always drifting up and bunching across the top of his belly no matter how often he tugged it back down, and he had resorted to wearing bib-front overalls like the cleaners and fitters wore instead. The look wasn’t particularly flattering, but the support did help distribute the weight and kept some of the strain off his lower back.

One morning, as Charlie coupled up Edward to his coaches and connected the brake lines, he heard an irritated noise of frustration from the back of the carriages. Looking up, Charlie had to cover his amused grin when he saw just what the issue was. Edward was in his human form and trying to climb up into the coach, but apparently could no longer lift his leg high enough to get it on the boarding step due to the bulk of his belly. 

“Doing alright there, Edward?” Charlie walked over to his engine, who appeared to be on the edge of crying. “Are you sure you want to go out and work today?”

“Yes. I have passengers to take today. But I can’t get into the carriage.” Edward put both feet back on solid ground, an unhappy frown on his face.

“Here, let me give you a hand.” Charlie hopped up into the coach with ease that made Edward quite jealous and re-emerged with a metal stool in hand. One was kept tucked in the vestibule of each carriage for boarding and dis-embarking passengers at halts without platforms. 

Holding onto his driver’s hand, Edward was now able to step up and into the coach. He breathed in deeply and exhaled, frustration leaving as quickly as it had come. “Thank you, Driver.”

“Any time, Edward.” Charlie shook his head and smiled. He’d have to remember to leave out a stool in the mornings, at least until Edward decided to officially take his maternity leave. 

Later that day, while Edward was eating his lunch under the watchful eyes of Sidney and James, Charlie went to the Fat Controller’s office. Edward would never ask for any time off or reduced duty, so it was up to his driver to do it for him. 

“Ah, Charlie. Good afternoon. How is Edward doing?” Sir Topham put his schedule work aside. 

“Stubborn, but okay.” Charlie laughed a little as he remembered that morning. “I was hoping to ask that you give him Sundays off. I think a full day off would do him good.”

“Done.” Sir Topham wrote a note down in his planner about it so that he could find another engine to take Edward’s Sunday runs. It shouldn’t be too hard, since Sundays were already slow days. “Is Edward okay with this?”

“He’ll probably be unhappy about it when we tell him.” Charlie would most likely have to reassure Edward he was still useful and wanted, pregnancy hormones made him much more easily upset, but knew the blue engine would be the better for it in the end. “But he needs the day off. He can go to his appointment, then relax the rest of the afternoon.”

“I think BoCo will be able to take over Edward’s usual Sunday duties. Gator has been doing a very good job handling the branch line goods, and now that the Misty Island branch line is open we don’t have to send as much down the Wellsworth line.” Sir Topham was off in planning land. He knew that Edward would have to stop work completely relatively soon, for at least a month or longer, and wanted to make sure everything was already set up and in place for that eventuality. 

Satisfied that his request was taken care of, Charlie went to leave the office and opened the door right into Archie Binns. 

“Oh jeez, sorry about that.” Charlie stepped to one side, holding the door open.

“It’s alright, sir.” Archie rubbed at his forehead where he had been smacked with the door. “Should’ve knocked.”

“Afternoon, Archie.” Sir Topham paused in his schedule-rearranging as the student carefully closed the door behind him. “How is your research doing?”

“Oh, it’s grand sir.” Archie said enthusiastic. “I’m getting all kinds of information. I did have a question for you. I’ve heard from some of the engines that extensive rebuilds can cause memory loss. Is that true?”

“It is.” Sir Topham nodded, a little surprised at the question. “Having an engine rebuilt or modified can cause anything from minor to complete memory loss. There’s really no way of knowing until the work is done.”

“What about their personalities?” Archie pulled out a notebook and scribbled a few things down. “Is there any appreciable change?”

“Not usually.” Sir Topham had seen a number of his engines modified at the Sodor shops, always to try and fix build defects and improve their ability to work. “Here on Sodor, at least, any side-effects of rebuilds are usually minor. I cannot say the same for work done in other shops, though.”

“Interesting.” Archie couldn’t help but wonder what made the Sodor shops different from others. “Could I have a list of all the engines on the island that have had rebuilds or modification work done?”

“Of course,” Sir Topham pulled out a piece of paper and quickly wrote down the names of the engines he knew had been rebuilt off the top of his head. “Here are the ones I know. If I remember anyone else, I shall have one of my men call you.”

“Thank you sir. I’ll get right on this.” Archie looked over the list eagerly as he left the office. There were a few familiar names already on there, who hopefully wouldn’t be too difficult to find. 

Just outside Knapford station, Archie saw his first opportunity. A pair of engines were on their breaks in the yard, both of which were on his list. 

“Pardon me!” Archie hurried over to where the two were seated at a picnic table with their crews. “James and Edward? Could I ask you a quick question?”

James wasn’t sure he appreciated the intrusion into his time with his partner and gripped Edward a little tighter, a frown on his face. Edward, though, only smiled and pushed away his empty lunchbox. “What would you like to know?”

“Both of you have been rebuilt or modified in the past, correct?” Archie clicked on his tape recorder and prepared his pen. “Did you experience any memory loss from this?”

“I have had a fair amount of modification done. Mostly to my cab and firebox.” Edward answered first, knowing that James wouldn’t like the question. “But my memory hasn’t suffered. I can remember everything from before my rebuild just fine.”

“I see.” Archie scribbled something down before looking to the other engine, “James?”

“I don’t remember anything from before I was modified.” James said with a scowl on his face. “My first memory is waking up after my modifications were finished.”

“Very interesting.” This was much more useful to Archie. “Do you ever wish you could get those memories back?”

James hesitated, considering the question. He had thought about it more than once, wondering just what had happened in those years he was missing, the things he couldn’t remember. “No. I don’t.”

Edward looked up at his partner in surprise, as did Archie and the engine crews. 

“My siblings were assholes. They hated anyone who wasn’t like them, and made my early life miserable.” James held onto Edward a little tighter. “Why would I want to remember even more years spent around them? The few that I knew them is enough.”

Archie nodded, deciding to end things there. “Thank you, James. Edward.” With that, he left for the station platform to locate the next engine on his list. 

Edward sat there in James’ arms for a few moments longer before shifting uncomfortably and turning to cup his partner’s cheek. “Are you really sure about that, James?”

“Sure about what?” James loosened his grip apologetically, moving his hands lower and slipping them underneath the bib of Edward’s overalls to rub a bit at his belly. He much preferred to focus on the present rather than think about the past. “Not wanting to remember my life before Sodor? Pretty sure.”

“That’s almost eight years you’re missing.” Edward placed his hand over one of James,’ feeling the baby move and shift at his partner’s touch and smiling despite himself. 

“Yeah. Eight years of being a boring, black goods engine that looked just like every other boring, black goods engine on the railway.” That last thing James needed was more memories like that. “I have so many better memories here. Of being a splendid red engine, pulling coaches. People admiring my paint and telling me how amazing I look.”

“Is that all?” Edward teased.

“Well, I suppose my memories of being with you are pretty good, too.” James kissed Edward before very reluctantly standing up. “Now, I believe there’s people just waiting for a fabulous red engine to come pull their train. I’ll see you tonight.”

“Tonight.” Edward promised. He stood as well, a little slower as his body adjusted to the new weight it carried. He had a train to pull too. 

 

Knapford station was the largest and busiest on the Northwestern Railway, with a constant hustle and bustle of trains coming and going. It therefor made it the perfect place to sit and wait when one was looking for a specific engine. 

Archie didn’t have to wait long before one of the engines on his list rolled into the station with a loud whirr. Georgette came to a stop just beyond the one electrified platform of Knapford, a short passenger train behind her. The logging museum on Misty Island had officially opened, as had one of the housing communities, which meant that there was one round trip from the island to Knapford every day for passengers. 

“Georgette!” Archie trotted over to the front of the engine until he could see her face. “Could I ask you a quick question?”

“Of course!” She smiled down at the curious human, always pleased to answer some questions about herself.

“You’ve been extensively rebuilt, yes?” Archie had heard something about her being cut to pieces and reassembled, but wanted to know more. “Do you have any memory trouble as a result?”

“You could call it a rebuild.” Georgette laughed lightly. “I was cut into 6-foot-sections, trucked back to the works at Altoona, and put back together. Ever since, I pass out when I’m disconnected from electricity. As for memory trouble, there are some holes in my recollections. But I recall most things. Pulling the Federal Express into Union Station. Visiting New York and Chicago, seeing the leaves change along the eastern corridor, wind blowing through my hair-“

“Pardon me?” Archie looked up at the GG-1 as she abruptly cut herself off. 

“Whoops, guess some things are still a bit mixed up.” Georgette grinned nervously as her coaches were taken away by a small purple shunter. “Oh, look, here comes my freight cars. I’ve got to get back to Misty Island.”

Archie was about to try and get something else out of her, ask another question, but was cut off by an excited squeal from behind the goods trucks. 

“A GG-1!Oh my goodness! Here, I brought your cars for you, miss!” A small diesel shunter pushed over a train of loaded trucks, a look of utter awe on his face as he saw who the train was for.

“Well I’ll be, a diesel boxcab.” This time, Georgette’s smile was genuine as she saw another engine from her old home railway. Soon, the two engines were off and talking excitably about days on the ol’ “Pennsy” and Archie knew his chance had been lost. He’d just have to try and corner her at another time. 

 

Before the day was done, Archie did manage to catch a few minutes with Gordon and Henry as well. He had especially wanted to talk to the green engine, having heard that the engine had been extensively modified from his original design. 

Upon asking Henry if he had any memory trouble, the green engine paused and had to think about it for a moment. 

“A little?” He offered finally. “There are some gaps. A few weeks that are just big . . . blanks. Other things I do remember. Not being able to run because I was too sick. Needing a special kind of coal. . . getting bricked into that tunnel.”

“Bricked into a tunnel?” Archie repeated with some confusion. Had he heard that one right?

“He was afraid of the rain and wouldn’t come out.” Gordon provided, always a little amused to tell that story. It was easier to make jokes than think about how dark, enclosed spaces still sometimes affected Henry. “So the Fat Controller bricked him in for a while.”

“Right.” That was definitely something he would be asking Sir Topham about later. “Any other memories? Particularly really early ones. Think about your life before Sodor.”

“There’s nothing really there.” Henry had never been able to remember much from before Sodor. He had simply been too sick. “Just. Pain. In my firebox, my smokebox. Boiler ache, legs hurting. Even my frame.”

“Legs?” Archie questioned. 

“I- I don’t know.” Henry looked rather distressed, trying to sort out his thoughts. “Maybe we’ve just been human too often, things are mixed up.”

“And that’s it for questions today.” Gordon said firmly. He moved forward on his track, protectively putting himself between his partner and Archie. 

“Of course.” Archie bowed out gracefully. If he kept pushing, there was a good chance that he would end up losing access to the railway all together. “Thank you for talking to me.”

Gordon just looked at him with an eyebrow raised before huffing and turning his attention back to Henry. 

 

Henry recovered quickly from his upset and went back to pulling his usual trains. The green engine was well accustomed to working through emotional and physical pain.

The same couldn’t quite be said for James, who continued to dwell on the questions he had been asked through-out the day. He knew he had no desire to regain all of his lost memories, but sometimes wondered what he had been like before his rebuild. Had he been just the same, or had he been a completely different engine? All of his siblings were long gone, so there wasn’t anyone to ask anymore. 

Rick, his driver, couldn’t help but notice the level of distraction James was operating at. This seemed to becoming a more common thing. As they finished their tasks for the day and prepared to head back to Tidmouth, Rick stopped them on a siding. “James, want to come in here for a minute?”

James suddenly popped into existence in the cab, looking at his crew with arms crossed. “What is it, Driver? I want to get back to Tidmouth.”

“We will. But I have something very important to teach you first.” Rick grabbed the fireman and hopped down from the cab. “Come ‘ere Temp, I need your help with this. James, this skill is going to do you a lot of good in the next few months. I’m going to teach you how to give the best damn massage ever.”

“Massage?” James frowned. That didn’t sound very important at all.

“I’m sure Edward has been having trouble with back pain, right?” Rick had a young daughter and knew a thing or two about dealing with a pregnant spouse. “Probably ankle and foot pain too? This will help.”

The prospect of helping Edward feel better was enough to get James to sit and watch as Rick turned the fireman around and started giving him a back massage, narrating what he was doing aloud for James’ benefit. “See, you want to feel around for where the muscles are tight and sore. Here, you try.”

James took his place and placed both hands against his fireman’s back. Temp, for his part, immediately tensed up at the touch and the prospect of being given a back massage by a steam engine. 

“Quiet down, Temp.” Rick chastised as the fireman made a groan of discomfort. “He’s never going to get it if he doesn’t have a chance to make mistakes.”

“I don’t make mistakes!” James denied, pressing a little too firmly. 

“Yow!” Temp turned to glare at Rick for putting him through this. 

After a few minutes of working at it, though, it seemed like James had gotten the hang of it. Rick nodded in satisfaction. “Okay, now you gotta learn the art of the foot massage. Temp, take off your boots.”

“What?!”

 

At Tidmouth sheds, Edward was seated in bed rubbing at the curve of his abdomen tiredly. The book he had been reading was set aside, he had read to his limit and had too much of a headache to continue. James seemed to be later than usual, which made Edward worried. When James didn’t come back to the shed on time, it usually meant that he had either been given an extra job and screwed it up or had derailed somewhere and was stuck. 

Just as Edward was beginning to panic just a little, the door to the back room opened and James slipped inside. 

“Why are you so late?” Edward demanded, a mix of worried and angry. 

“Driver taught me a new skill. Come here.” James shoved himself in behind his partner, getting access to Edward’s back, and began to rub at all the sore spots he knew the blue engine had by the end of the day. 

Edward hummed and relaxed back against his partner, any negative emotion he felt leaving his body. “Okay, I forgive you for being late as long as you keep doing that.”

James smirked. “Driver thought you might say that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love the idea of Bill and Ben being overprotective to the point of pissing off Timothy. 
> 
> And an appearance from Philip, who of course us another PRR engine.
> 
> Also: back massages. The most important skill to have for anyone.


	19. Chapter 19

The ‘official’ end of summer on Sodor came as it always did, with the first big rainstorm of fall. Clouds made their return, filling the skies and signaling the departure of the sun until next spring. 

Though most engines preferred the sunlight and warmth of summer, Edward actually enjoyed the rain just as much. He trotted down his branch line with a smile as rain gently pattered against his warm boiler, a pair of coaches strung behind him. 

BoCo was stopped at Lower Suddery headed the other way and chuckled when he saw Edward arrive. “Enjoying the rain, Edward?”

“It makes the world smell so nice.” Edward offered by way of explanation. “The streams fill, grass turns green again. Why wouldn’t I enjoy it?”

“The way it drips into your eyes and how I keep accidently snorting water up my nose?” BoCo sniffled for emphasis, trying to wriggle a water droplet off his nose. Sometimes, not having hands was a real inconvenience. 

“You’ll live, I’m sure.” Edward laughed in amusement. Yes, sometimes the rain was annoying, but all the good it could do overshadowed that.

Of course, not all engines thought that way. At Brendam docks, Edward found a rather unhappy Timothy shunting trucks alongside Salty and Porter. 

“What are you doing down at the docks, Timothy?” Edward asked curiously as he stopped at the Brendam platform. The small tank engine usually still spent his days at the Clay Pits, only coming down to the docks in the late evenings. 

“Rain can make the clay walls unstable,” Porter provided for his frowning partner. “Especially in the amounts we’ve been getting the last couple days.”

“What he means is, Bill and Ben kicked me out.” Timothy elaborated. “You remember the landslide that nearly got James and Percy a few years ago? Well, I guess now that I’m pregnant the clay pits are ‘too dangerous’ for me when it rains. Bill and Ben are convinced there’ll be another slide and I’ll get hurt.”

“They could be right.” Edward pointed out, well remembering the last big slide at the pits. 

“Well, yes, but-“ Timothy pouted. “They’re just fine making me do all of their work for them. Until they decide that I’m not allowed to do anything. I don’t like the fact that they feel like they can boss me around like that. It’s like. . . It’s like they don’t really need me at all at the Clay Pits unless it’s convenient to them.”

“It’s not like that at all.” Edward sighed. He really needed to track down those twins and have a chat with them. “Timothy, Bill and Ben consider you a good friend. You know they do. But the only way they know how to be friends with someone is by playing pranks on them and teasing them. Now, with the baby on the way, they’re just worried about you.”

“Besides, now you get to spend all day working here at the docks with me.” Porter pointed out. “Is that so bad?”

Timothy smiled a little. “I guess not. But I will be glad to get back to the Clay Pits. Just to make sure Bill and Ben haven’t left Marion stuck on a cutting or trapped themselves in a siding again.”

“Well, you can go back tomorrow to check on them. You’re spending today with me.” Porter wouldn’t admit it, but he did worry for his partner whenever Timothy was out of his sight. “Now it’s time for your lunch break, right?”

“Right.” Timothy moved himself over behind Edward’s train and gathered the lunch provided by his driver. The man seemed quite determined to feed him as much as possible, to make up for the months Timothy had gone without, and had no trouble getting Porter’s help to remind the oil-burning engine when to eat. 

Since Edward was on his own break as well, Timothy decided to join the other engine for lunch. Normally, Edward enjoyed his food outside, but with the rain he decided to stay inside one of his coaches. This didn’t bother him too much, since Edward was starting to get a little self-conscious about letting other people see his human body. 

Timothy entered the coach and sank down into the seat across from Edward with a groan, one hand tugging down the fabric of his shirt where it was trying to ride up. Their clothing was not strictly “real,” so it continued to fit even as he gained weight. That, however, didn’t mean that it fit –well.-

“You should try overalls.” Edward advised. Though he wasn’t fond of the look, they had turned out to be much more comfortable than anticipated. 

Timothy nodded, closing his eyes briefly. His button-up shirt and jeans flickered and changed into a blue pull-over and overalls. Immediately he felt a little better, belly filling out the bib of the overalls instead of being restricted inside his shirt. One hand went to open his lunchbox, the other rubbed slow circles on the curve of his midsection. When Timothy saw the amount of food that had been packed, he groaned a little. “I know driver cares about me, but he could pack a little less. I don’t think I can eat all this.”

“Then don’t.” Edward opened his own lunchbox and took a bite of the sandwich inside. “I always save a little to eat as a snack in the afternoon.”

“Porter doesn’t like it when I don’t finish all my food.” Timothy loved his partner, but the dock tank engine had been maybe a tad over-bearing lately. “He worries that I’m not getting enough. After what the doctor said.”

“Well you certainly can’t eat it all at once.” Edward nodded towards the other engine’s middle. Timothy wasn’t nearly as large as Edward had gotten, but still had an impressive bulge on his smaller frame. “Remind Porter that as the baby grows, you start to run out of space for food. Eat smaller amounts, but more often.”

Timothy nodded, a little relieved now that he was assured he didn’t have to try and eat all of the food sitting there right at that moment. He could always count on Edward to give the best advice. 

 

As the rains fell, the weather began to turn colder. The engines and their crews were kept warm by their burning fires, the coaches by the steam of their engines, but Edward still began to wish for a blanket of some kind to wrap around himself. He wasn’t really cold, but he was getting heavy enough that people were starting to notice. To wonder about the man who rode on every trip, asleep against the window, middle a little larger every week. 

The guard, Tim, who looked after his body was at least a fast thinker. To anyone who asked, Edward was just “Eddie,” Tim’s sick cousin who was gaining weight and tired all the time due to medication but really loved riding on trains. 

One morning, after the oiling was done and steam was up, Charlie went to the back room with a little present for Edward. He knocked on the door before letting himself in, “Morning, Edward.”

“Morning, Driver.” Came the sleepy response as Edward pushed himself into a sitting position. Waking up in the mornings was getting a little harder, but the reminder that he had trains to pull was motivation enough. 

“I have something for you.” Charlie pulled a little bundle out from behind his back. “Here, my wife knitted this for you.”

Edward unfolded the gift curiously, revealing a knitted wrap the same shade of blue as his livery with neat red detailing around the edges. Standing, Edward pulled it over his shoulders and wrapped it around himself. To his delight, it covered him completely, hanging down almost to his knees. 

“I remember you saying you’d like something to cover yourself, and my wife loves to knit.” Charlie held out another, smaller bundle in the same colors. “She also made this.”

Edward took this as well, looking at the small, square blanket in surprise. It was nice, but too small for him. 

Seeing the engine’s confusion, Charlie explained. “It’s a baby blanket.”

“A baby-“ Edward felt tears form at the corners of his eyes, incredibly touched that someone he barely knew, that he had only met a few times, would do something like this for him. 

“She had some leftover yarn and thought you might appreciate that.” Charlie gently took the blanket back and folded it up. “Here, we’ll put it with your hospital bag.” Over the last week or so, Charlie had begun putting together a little duffle bag containing all the things that would need to come to the doctor’s with them when Edward eventually went into labor. 

Still sniffling a little, Edward wiped at his eyes and followed his driver outside. Time to start the day. 

 

James joined his partner for lunch that day, looking over Edward’s new fashion statement with interest. “What is that?” He ran a hand over his partner’s shoulder, feeling the soft knit. 

“Do you like it?” Edward picked up one of the corners, shaking the little fringe around the corners. “Driver’s wife made it for me. She made a matching baby blanket too.”

“That was nice of her.” James frowned a bit. He liked that Edward was happy, but he hated that he couldn’t be the one to provide for his partner. It just wasn’t possible, of course. He didn’t have money of his own, he couldn’t buy things for his partner or cook him food or knit him clothes. He could, at least, still give Edward massages and read him books and hand over the snacks purchased by borrowing money from his driver. “Do you want a chocolate bar? I got some for you.”

“Thank you, James.” Edward accepted the candy and broke off a small piece, popping it in his mouth. James was satisfied, at least, that he could do that much for the blue engine. 

“You do eat a lot of that.” James observed. No matter how much he picked up, Edward always seemed excited about it. 

“The baby likes it.” Edward commented, patting his belly. “Driver says its cravings. Which means that whenever I’m not eating it, I really want to.”

“Well, whatever the baby wants, I can get.” James promised. 

Once Edward had finished eating, Charlie tugged him to his feet to go for a little walk. He and his engine went for short walks every day after finishing lunch so that Edward could get in some exercise and keep from getting too stiff from sitting around in a coach all day. Their walks had been getting a little shorter lately, as Edward ran out of breath easier and his ankles started hurt after too long, but it was still a good chance to just wander and talk about things. 

“So, have you thought about any baby names?” Charlie asked casually to make conversation as they strolled around the Knapford yard. 

“Names?” Edward looked at his driver in surprise. “Am I supposed to name them?”

“Well, I guess you don’t have to. But you’re the one carrying the baby, you’ve got first pick at a name.” Charlie was a little surprised the blue engine hadn’t thought about this at all, but then he hadn’t ever brought it up. 

Edward looked down at his protruding midsection contemplatively. “Do humans usually get names even before they’re born?”

Ah, that was the trouble. Engines usually weren’t named until after they came alive, sometimes not for years, with the exception of some express engines. “Yes, most parents choose their baby’s name before they’re born.”

“What if they don’t like it? Or if it doesn’t suit them?” Edward seemed almost a little worried as he cradled his belly with both hands. He wanted his baby to fit in with all of the other people in the world.

“Most people like their names. But if people don’t, they get nicknames. My name is Charles, but everyone calls me Charlie.” The engine driver pointed out. “And if someone really doesn’t like their name, you can change it. I trust you to pick a nice name, though.”

Edward frowned a little, but figured if he picked anything really awful the Hatts could always change it. “I’ll think about it.”

 

The question of baby names continued to nag at Edward for the rest of the day as he made his usual run along his branch line. Naming things was not his specialty, and nothing he thought of seemed right. 

Coming to a stop at the Animal Park, Edward was distracted from his thoughts by a pair of passengers on the platform. They were chatting away in a language that sounded vaguely familiar, but one that Edward didn’t know. That wasn’t all that unusual, the park got plenty of international visitors from all over the world that spoke a great variety of languages, but these men didn’t really look like foreigners. And Edward was sure he’d heard that language somewhere before. 

“Pardon me.” Edward called to the two men, who looked at him with surprise. “What is that you’re speaking?”

“Why, it’s Sudric.” The man seemed almost amused at being addressed by a railway locomotive. 

“Sad that folks don’t recognize the native language anymore.” The other man shook his head sadly.

Of course. Sodor had its own language, similar to how the Isle of Man had the language “Manx.” Almost no one still spoke Sudric, though. When Edward had first arrived on the island it had already been an “old-timers” language. 

“Driver, do you know any Sudric?” Edward asked as he started off again, heading north. 

“Can’t say I do, Edward.” Charlie admitted. “Just a few words here and there, from when I was younger. And there are places named in Sudric, though I can’t tell you what all of them mean.”

Edward considered this as he made his stops at lower and upper Suddery. There were plenty of places on the island that didn’t have names in English, so presumably they were Sudric instead. 

“Kloshe sun, Edward!” At Wellsworth, Skookum came to a stop with the Limited just in time to see Edward arrive. The older blue engine looked unusually contemplative. “What has you so thoughtful today?”

“Oh, good afternoon, Skookum.” Edward had a sudden thought as he looked at the large streamliner. “I heard a couple men speaking Sudric today, the native language of Sodor. It reminded me of the language you speak. Your name is in that language, right?”

“Yep. Skookum means ‘strong’ in Chinook Wawa.” Skookum said proudly. “Most of the engines and nearly all the ships I knew had names in Chinook Wawa. Like Kalakala, her name means ‘flying bird.’ There were a lot of places, like rivers and mountains, named like that too. Why do you ask?”

“Just wondering. I think there are only a few engines on the island with names in Sudric. There's Skarloey and Rheneas. Maybe one or two others. It’s a little odd.” Edward had never really considered it before. 

A guard’s whistle blew and Skookum began to pull away from the station. “Kloshe nanitch, Edward! See you another time.”

“Goodbye, Skookum.” Edward finished offloading his passengers, then was cut from his coaches and went to run around to the front and get turned around to head back towards Brendam.

 

Later that day, after finishing his jobs, Edward asked his driver if he could go and get a book on Sudric. 

“I can look for one at the library.” Charlie carefully helped the engine step down from one of the coaches and they headed for the shed. “Why do you want one?”

“Well, I was just thinking. After Skookum mentioned that where they are from, everyone was named in their language. Maybe I could name the baby something in Sudric.” Edward thought that would be nice, something to remind the child of their Sudrian heritage. 

“I think that sounds great, Edward.” Charlie opened the door to the back room for him, “I’ll drop into the library and see what I can find. If I get something, I’ll bring it with me tomorrow. Alright?”

“Thank you driver,” Edward sat down on the edge of the bed, placing a hand over the curve of his belly. He still thought it a little odd to give the baby a name before he saw them, or knew their personality, but if it was the human way then he would give it a try.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a fondness for obscure or dying languages. Even fictional ones. 
> 
>  
> 
> Also, this fic is now longer than "Runner in the Night," making it the longest thing I have -ever- written. Can I make it to 100k? We'll see!


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Important note: So that nobody gets confused, gonna explain a headcanon I have that's important to this chapter. 
> 
> So, the Lady Hatt that we see in the model era and the Lady Hatt of the CGI era look completely different, right? Also, the new Lady Hatt looks -waaaaay- too young to be a grandmother. So, headcanon, Sir Topham's wife died and the Lady Hatt we see now is actually his daughter, who is preparing to take over the railway when her father retires.

“So, Archie, how is the research coming?” 

Archie Binns stood in Sir Topham Hatt’s office, holding a folder containing some of his research notes in front of him. He had promised to report all of his findings to the railway owner, and was actually rather eager to share what he had learned so far. “Very well, sir. I’m getting so much more than I imagined. The engines are far more animated and intelligent than anything I read suggested.”

Sir Topham smiled. He was always pleased when people really got to know the engines. “And where are you going next with this?”

“Well, for one I’m interested in their human forms.” Archie had been low-key observing the false projections and was quite intrigued. “Now, I realize this all theory and conjecture. But living machines clearly have something akin to souls. So are their souls leaving their body? A form of projection? But from what I’ve heard, the engines also have fairly static personalities. They don’t change much over the years. One of my goals here is to figure out where their life comes from.”

Well, at least the student was enthusiastic. “As long as you don’t distress my engines or interfere with their work, you may continue.”

“Thank you, sir.” Archie nodded respectfully, almost vibrating with his excitement. “I was hoping to do a few experiments with their human forms. Just, see what their limits are. How long they last, how far they can travel, things like that. Could I get alerted when an engine has a day off or is otherwise free for several hours?”

“I believe that can be done. It would probably suit the Northwestern Railway to know the limits of their human forms anyway.” Sir Topham made a note in his planner. There was almost always at least one steam engine at the works having routine maintenance done, since they required boiler cleanouts and servicing on a regular basis. “I shall inform you who is free and where. Do you need anything else?”

“I should be good. Thank you, Sir Topham.” Archie bowed a little and hustled out onto the Knapford platform. 

A little while later, Sir Topham came out onto the platform as well. Just as a certain blue engine pulled into the station, right on schedule.

“Morning, Edward.” Sir Topham raised a hand. As it was a Sunday, the old engine wasn’t working at anything. Instead of coaches, he had an old brake van coupled up behind him. It made for a convenient place for his human body to rest while BoCo had his coaches. 

“Oh, good morning Sir.” Edward rolled to a halt, a little surprised to see his owner. The man didn’t normally come to his appointments. “Is something wrong?”

“No, no.” Sir Topham laughed a little. The engines were always so quick to assume something was wrong when he needed to speak with them. “Actually, I wanted to tell you that my daughter would like to meet you. Do you have time to go to Hatt Hall after your appointment?”

“I- yes. I do.” Edward was quite surprised indeed. “But why does she want to see me, sir?”

“Edward, she is adopting your baby. She just wants to talk with you.” Sir Topham smiled. “James can go with you as well, if you want. Would you like to go?”

“Of course, sir.” Edward still wasn’t entirely clear on why Lady Hatt wanted him to go to Hatt Hall just see him privately, but it wasn’t like he had anything else planned for that afternoon. 

Edward continued on to a siding in Knapford yard, where James was already waiting for him. Timothy and Porter weren’t too far behind, the group sitting down to have lunch before going to the doctor’s office. Just as Timothy and Edward started on their lunches, though, someone new joined in.

“Pardon me!” Archie trotted over to the group of engines on break, unbothered by the frowns he received. “Do you all have a moment?”

James opened his mouth to respond, so before he could say something rude Edward cut him off with a quick, “Yes, we do. What do you need?”

“Excellent,” Archie pulled out his notebook and a pen. “Now, I’ve noticed you over here eating before. Is consuming food something that engines need to do?”

Edward hesitating, glancing over at Timothy, who only shrugged. “No. Just myself and Timothy.”

Archie looked between the two curiously. “And why is that?”

Timothy shrugged again, not particularly caring if this human knew about his pregnancy. All of the workers at the Clay Pits knew already, and those were pretty much the only people whose opinion Timothy really cared about. (besides the Fat Controller, of course)

“Sir Topham said that if I tell you, that you promised not to say anything about it.” Edward reminded the student. 

So this was the “unusual situation” Sir Topham had mentioned back when Archie had first arrived on the island. The student researcher leaned forward in anticipation. “I did promise. I shall not put anything about it in my paper.”

“Timothy and I are both pregnant,” Edward said with a little smile. As he said it, James wrapped one arm possessively around his partner. Edward only smiled a little wider, hand joining his partner’s on his belly. 

“Wh-what?” Archie stared at Edward for a moment before looking over to Timothy, who was also wrapped in his partner’s arms. “You’re really-? How did that happen?”

“The same way humans manage it, I believe.” Timothy commented.

Porter laughed and lifted the smaller engine fully into his lap. “We turned human briefly a few months ago. Which seems to have resulted in human babies.” He elaborated.

“Well, at least you aren’t reproducing as locomotives.” Archie muttered. “Wait, did you say you turned human? As in, more human than you are now?”

“We aren’t human right now. We just. . .look like them,” James scoffed. “Being an actual human is far more unpleasant.”

“What James is trying to say.” Charlie decided to butt into the conversation before Archie could get even more confused. “Normally, these human forms are total fakes. It’s pretty obvious. They don’t breathe, for one. And I have a hell of a time getting a camera to take a picture of them. But last spring they turned into actual people.”

“Amazing.” Archie breathed, looking between the two gravid engines with fascination. He dearly wished he could include this in his paper, but knew he had made a promise. That, of course, didn’t mean he couldn’t research a little bit in his own time.

“Well, we need to get these two to their doctor’s appointment.” Charlie packed up the remains of his lunch and stood. “Alicia doesn’t like it when we’re late.”

“Hang on. That’s why Alicia came to the island!” Archie hadn’t thought too much of it when she had mentioned she had been asked to come back to Sodor, but now it made sense. He would have to track her down later for a chat. 

“Yes, she is looking after our engines very well.” Raman put a hand on Timothy’s shoulder fondly and took the leftovers of the oil-burning engine’s food to save for later. The engine driver was very grateful for the medical care Timothy was receiving, especially after he had gone so long without. 

The ten block walk from Knapford station to the clinic was a good bit of exercise and also a good opportunity to see the progress on the new construction going on. Streetcar service was being installed throughout the city, intended to connect the railway station to various attractions and neighborhoods around Knapford. 

After months of construction equipment and caution tape, it seemed like the rails were nearly done. Edward toed one the brand-new rails curiously. “Do you think the streetcars will be running soon?”

“Sometime next month according to the paper.” Charlie wouldn’t mind that at all. After Knapford was finished, they were supposed to be starting on Tidmouth too. Soon enough, he might not have to drive to work anymore. “Why, are you hoping to start riding a streetcar instead of walking?”

“Walking is getting a bit difficult.” Edward admitted, using one hand to help support the weight of his belly. And it wouldn’t be getting easier any time soon.

“I wouldn’t mind getting a ride.” Timothy agreed, beginning to feel the first twinges of pain in his lower back. 

“I could carry you.” Porter offered. 

“That’s okay.” Timothy smiled a little bit, but wasn’t about to make his partner do all the work. This was, at least, something he could still do. 

As they arrived at the clinic, Alicia opened the door for them and smiled. “I see you two are doing well.”

“Tell me about it.” Edward laughed and patted his very round middle. No matter how many aches and pains he had, or how much his work was reduced, Edward thought it was all worth it to know that his baby was doing okay. 

“Well, come on in and we’ll have a better look.” Alicia held the door open for the group as they came inside. 

 

Edward had gained some weight and girth since the last checkup, which he already knew. Alicia said that was a good thing. She still had some concerns about Edward’s age, and apparently low birth weight was more common the older the “mother.” At this point that didn’t seem to be much of an issue, though.

“I don’t think you’ll need to worry too much about the baby’s weight,” Alicia let Edward pull his shirt back down after finishing with the ultrasound. She still hadn’t been able to make out the baby’s gender, not that either Edward or James cared, but the child looked to very quite healthy from what she could see. 

“Is it bad that I’m smaller than Edward, then?” Timothy asked as he took the other engine’s place on the table. 

“Not necessarily.” Alicia reassured. She was keeping a close eye on the tank engine, still a little concerned about the lack of nourishment and rest he’d endured for so long, but the increased food intake and sleep seemed to really be helping. “Some people gain a lot of weight during pregnancy, some don’t.”

“See, nothing to worry about, Timothy.” Porter held his partner’s hand as they looked at the image of their baby on the ultrasound machine. 

 

When the checkup was all finished, Timothy and Porter went to the docks while Edward and James headed towards the halt nearest the Hatt family manor. The Hatt’s, of course, had their estate overlooking the mainline of the Northwestern Railway, an impressive old manor surrounded by well-groomed gardens. 

Edward looked up at the building rather nervously as he stood next to his body. To his knowledge, he would be the first engine to visit Hatt Hall. He at least wasn’t doing it alone. Hopefully, Lady Hatt wouldn’t mind him being late, but Edward had wanted to wait until James was strong enough to use his human form again. 

“Ready to go?” James was pushing his energy a little bit, but wasn’t about to let his partner go it alone.

“I think so.” Edward hooked arms with the red engine and leaned on him a little. Their crews had offered to go in with them, but Sir Topham had only asked Edward and James so the engines decided to go by themselves. 

Walking up to the impressive door of the manor, Edward gave it a light knock and stepped back. It was only a moment or two before the door creaked open, the house’s butler beckoning them inside. 

“Wow.” James whistled as he looked around the interior of the house, which was just as impressive as the outside. The entry hall had framed photographs on either side, both of people who must have been members of the Hatt family and of several of the railway’s engines. 

Stepping closer, Edward was a little surprised to see one of the framed pictures was of all the Tidmouth engines. At least he knew his owner truly cared about them. 

“Oh, Edward dear.” Lady Hatt bustled into the hallway and eagerly shook Edward’s hand, before turning to the other engine. “And you must be James. Thank you for coming to visit. Do you need anything, something to eat or drink maybe?”

“That’s alright, ma’am. We can’t stay for too long, James can only be human for a limited amount of time.” Edward said politely. “But perhaps somewhere to sit down would be nice?”

“Oh, of course. I’m sorry, making you stand on your feet like this while pregnant.” Lady Hatt led them both into a sitting room where Edward very gratefully sank down onto a loveseat with James at his side. “So how are you and the baby doing?”

“We are both fine.” Edward put a hand on his belly. The baby seemed to be able to sense his nervousness and was kicking and rolling inside. He moved his hand a little lower to rub at the spot that was currently being abused. “Alicia said she was worried about my age, but apparently the baby is growing very well. I wanted to thank you, by the way, for offering to adopt the baby.”

“Why –did- you offer to adopt them?” James blurted out. He immediately cringed a bit at his rudeness (in front of the daughter of his owner!), but couldn’t take it back. “I mean, we’re grateful. But why?”

Lady Hatt didn’t seem bothered by James’ questioning at all. “My husband and I thought about having another child after Bridgett. But when I had her, well, there were complications. I can’t have any more children. When father mentioned he needed to find someone willing to adopt a baby I thought maybe this was finally our chance. I will be taking over the railway when father retires, so I can make certain the child is raised near the railroad and you can see them whenever you want.”

“All I want. All –we- want,” Edward corrected with a glance at his partner. “Is for someone to love the baby and raise them to fit in with other people.”

“Of course.” Lady Hatt stood and straightened out her skirt. “Now, the other reason I asked you here is because I had something I wanted to show you. Would you like to follow me?”

Curious, Edward pushed himself to his feet (with a little help from James) and followed her down one of the manor’s many hallways. Doors lined either side, though they didn’t have to pass many before Lady Hatt paused and pushed one open. 

“We’ve had men working on this for a few weeks now. It’s not quite done yet, but it will be soon.” She explained as they stepped inside. 

The room inside was spacious, a large window letting in plenty of light to illuminate the area. A crib stood against one wall, the rest of the room containing a dresser, toy chest, and changing table. All in matching pastels. Most impressive, though, was the mural that decorated all four walls. It wasn’t quite finished, one of the walls only half done, but was still beautiful to see. Someone had painted scenes depicting the Northwestern Railway across the island, including forests, stations, and tunnels. And on the painted rails were little engines, cartoonish but easily recognizable. 

“Look, someone’s painted me.” James eagerly crouched down to peer at the red Number 5 engine. “Not bad, either. Not perfect, but I guess it’s hard to capture my amazing-ness in art.”

“They’ve painted me too.” Edward could see a blue engine with number 2 on the tender, prominently displayed near the crib. “What-?”

“This is the baby’s room.” Lady Hatt explained. She looked at Edward with a bit of concern. “Do you like it? Father said you didn’t know the baby’s gender, so we tried to go with something gender-neutral. And I thought decorating it with a railway motif would be a nice touch. We can change anything you don’t like, though.”

“No. It’s- it’s great.” Edward was somewhat awed that she had gone through so much trouble just for a baby that wasn’t even born yet. The blue engine could feel tears coming and couldn’t hold them back. “I love it.”

James saw that his partner was about to cry and quickly went over to him. He knew that Edward was only crying because he was happy, as he so often did these days, but James still panicked a little bit at any sign of emotional distress. 

Lady Hatt didn’t look too sure as tears rolled down Edward’s face, despite the smile that he had as James gently ran a hand up and down his back. 

“He really likes it,” James offered for his partner, who was too emotionally compromised to say anything more. “We both do. But this seems like a lot of trouble to go through.”

“Oh, no trouble.” Lady Hatt relaxed, reassured that Edward actually did like the layout of the room. “Putting together the baby’s room is part of the fun. My husband, Charles, is an artist; he’s been doing the walls. I’ve been doing the furniture shopping. Fortunately, we did keep some of the things from when Bridgett was a baby. It’s nice to be decorating a baby’s room when I’m not waddling about pregnant.”

Edward laughed a little. He wasn’t quite at the waddling point yet, but knew he probably would be before this was all over. That part he wasn’t particularly looking forward to, though he knew it would most likely amuse James to no end. 

“Was there anything else?” James asked, beginning to feel his energy wane again. He didn’t know how much longer he’d be able to hold his human form, and didn’t want to leave Edward alone. 

“That was the only thing I really wanted to show you.” Lady Hatt led them out of the room and back towards the front door. “We’ve started picking up some other things as well. Diapers, baby clothes, formula. Everything the baby will need when they come home from the hospital. Please, do let me or my father know if you need anything, Edward. And you are welcome at the house any time.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” Edward said again, wiping tears from his eyes. “For everything.”

“Please, you can call me Helen.” She held the door open for them and waved as the two set off down the drive and back to the nearby halt where their bodies waited.

 

Charlie and Rick were both sitting on their engine’s footplates, watching with eagle eyes for the return of James and Edward. When they saw them, both drivers hopped to their feet and climbed down onto the ground.

“So how’d it go?” Charlie noticed that Edward had clearly been crying, though that didn’t necessarily mean things had gone bad. 

“She wanted to show us the room for the baby.” Edward took his driver’s arm as James finally ran out of energy and vanished back to his real body. “It’s painted with pictures of the Northwestern. Engines, stations, forests. Even me and James.”

“That sounds lovely.” Charlie said sincerely, helping Edward up into the old brakevan they were using in lieu of coaches. “Now come on. James has to get back to Knapford for his afternoon passengers, and you’ve the entire rest of the day off to read those books on Sudric I picked up.”

For once, Edward didn’t begrudge the enforced time off. He thought the sound of sitting and reading while waiting for James to return sounded quite nice indeed.

 

At Knapford Station, things were running as usual for a Sunday afternoon. With a happy blare of her horn, Georgette rolled into the station with her daily passenger train. The streamlined electric engine was enjoying her new work, though it did get lonely at times without all of her siblings there too. Still, she was grateful to have work rather than meeting her fate in the scrapyard. 

Her enjoyment was tempered slightly, though, when she saw the human on the platform. 

“Georgette!” Archie Binns smiled and walked over while her passengers unloaded. “Just a few more questions, I was hoping to follow up on our conversation from the other day.”

Georgette sighed. If the human really wanted answers, she might as well give them to him. “You wanted to know about my memories from before my rebuild, yes?”

“If you’re willing to share, yes.” Archie didn’t want to pry, but the GG-1 seemed more likely to talk with him than Henry had. 

“Some of the memories I have. . . I don’t think they are my own.” Georgette admitted. “I can remember. Small spaces, machinery. Lots of people, mostly women. Screaming, fire. Pain. I don’t know what it means, or why I have these recollections. I just do.”

“I. . . see.” Archie wasn’t quite expecting that. “In these memories. Do you know what you look like? Are you an engine?”

“N-no. I don’t think so. But it doesn’t feel like my human form either. Not really.” Georgette didn’t like thinking about these things. As the little shunter Phillip brought over her trucks for the return trip to the island, she was grateful to have an excuse to leave. “I have to go. I. Hope it helped?”

“I’m not sure yet.” Archie admitted. It was all interesting, but he needed to speak with more engines. “Thank you for sharing that with me.”

Georgette raced off, and Archie headed to another platform to catch a train to Vicarstown. He wanted to talk with some of the younger engines on the island.


	21. Chapter 21

The Sodor China Clay Pits was an expansive operation, employing a good portion of the town of Brendam who worked at all kinds of different jobs. There were always trains of clay to go to the docks, or coal and mining supplies to fetch so that work could continue. 

Despite all this, once again Timothy found himself sitting without anything to do. Well, that wasn’t quite true, he was on Marion duty. Which meant sitting with a train of empty trucks while the steam shovel loaded them, shifting them forward a little bit whenever Marion had filled one truck so that she could fill the next. 

Timothy sighed as he half-listened to Marion chatting away about something. Though his human body was reclined in a comfortable chair back at the crewmen’s breakroom, he could still feel it. It made his rivets ache, and his firebox felt a pain sometimes when the baby got the mind to kick away at his insides. What Timothy really wanted was to be kept busy, to distract himself from the sensations and keep his mind from worrying over all the scary things he had read about in the pregnancy books Edward had lent him. 

Unfortunately, Bill and Ben seemed quite determined to do everything on their own. They did it in a haphazard and sloppy manner that irritated Timothy even more than if he’d had to do it all himself, but all he could do was sit and watch. 

“Okay, Timothy. These trucks are full.” Marion interrupted Timothy’s thoughts as she released one last shovel-full of dirt into one of the trucks. 

“Alright, Marion.” Timothy glanced around for a pair of yellow boilers but, seeing nothing, began to pull the trucks away to the main yard to be sorted. They were very heavy, but Timothy was a strong little engine. Normally, he would have no trouble with them. Now, though, he found himself struggling for breath a little bit as he got the train moving. 

Shortness of breath had become more of an issue for him lately. Alicia had said it was because as the baby grew he had less space for his lungs to expand, which to Timothy just meant he always felt like he wasn’t getting enough air with each breath. This despite the fact that he knew, in his mind, that his engine body was physically fine. 

There was a bump and suddenly the train got a lot easier to pull. Timothy frowned and looked over the loaded trucks, able to just see the curved tank of a distinctive yellow engine. 

“Here, Timothy. Let me help with that!” It was Bill, who gave a little whistle as he pushed the train and the oil burning engine down the track. “Can’t have you straining yourself.”

“Straining-“ Timothy huffed. He was perfectly capable of taking a loaded train across the Clay Pits, but now here he was being shoved down the rails like a lifeless truck. 

Resigning himself to his fate, Timothy kept an eye out behind him to watch the rails. They were going a little fast. “Bill, slow down a bit! We don’t need to go this fast.”

“I’ve got it!” The twin replied, not slowing one bit. He didn’t want to give Timothy any reason to start pulling again. 

“Bill!” There was a series of switches ahead, and the points were set against them. “Bill, the points! We need to stop!”

“What?” Bill finally put his brakes on, but it was too late. 

Timothy grunted as he hit the points, feeling his wheels come off the track and dig into the gravel. The trucks bumped against him fiercely, shoving him a little further from the rails, before coming to a halt themselves. 

“Oops.” Bill sheepishly looked over the mess he had made. The train was uncoupled from the stranded Timothy, letting the yellow tank engine move them to another siding before returning. 

“Here, Timothy. Let me help.” Bill approached his friend, an eager little grin on his face. “I’ll just pull you up-“

“No helping.” Timothy said sternly. The last thing he needed was the twins attempting to pull him back onto the rails and making everything worse. “Please. Just go and get a crane. Take Ben.”

“What? But our crane is out being serviced.” It was, of course, the perfect time for the rail crane at the Clay Pits to be out of commission. “We’ll have to go all the way to the Search and Rescue center for Rocky.”

“Well, I’m not going anywhere.” It meant even longer of sitting around with nothing to do, but at least having Rocky re-rail him was less likely to end in further damage. 

Bill looked as though he had a mind to attempt pulling Timothy back onto the rails himself anyway, but eventually he gave an exaggerated sigh and moved off to find his twin. “Fine. Don’t you go anywhere, I’ll go fetch Rocky.”

“Where would I go?” Timothy muttered as he watched the other tank engine bustle away. 

“Are you really alright, Timothy?” His driver Raman asked as he and the fireman got out to inspect their engine. 

“Yes, I’m fine. A little frustrated, but fine.” Timothy didn’t feel as though anything was damaged, he just couldn’t get back onto the rails again. “They do try. I just wish they wouldn’t try so hard.”

“They care about you,” Raman chuckled, kneeling down to look at Timothy’s wheels and undercarriage. The little engine’s skirting made it hard to see if everything was alright under there. “They just aren’t very good at expressing that.”

With nothing better do but sit and wait until the twins returned with Rocky, Timothy shifted over to his human body. It was a rare fall day where the weather was actually pleasant, overcast but without rain, so Timothy pushed himself up and out of the comfortable chair in the break room to have a walk around the yard outside. The baby had woken up earlier in the day, kicking away as his insides, but Timothy had discovered that going for walks often helped put the little one back to sleep. 

Briefly, Timothy wished Porter was there. The strong arms and loving voice of the dockside tank engine never failed to make Timothy feel better no matter what had happened that day. But Porter was busy working down at Brendam, and didn’t need to be pulled from his tasks just because his partner was having a bad day. 

Instead, Timothy found himself talking to the baby inside him. All the books said that at this point babies could hear what was happening in the outside world, so Timothy often held one-sided conversations with his little passenger. 

“They aren’t really that bad, Bill and Ben.” Timothy commented as he paced next to the oil tank where he usually refueled. “Yes, they’re loud, and irresponsible. And like to play pranks on other engines. But they’re my friends, and they’ll always do right in the end. Even if they really mess it up first.”

Feeling the baby settle down, apparently satisfied from the short walk, Timothy smiled and wandered back into the break room to the refrigerator where he knew there would be some snacks just waiting for him. 

 

The sight of Bill and Ben hurrying down the Brendam branch line with the large form of Rocky the crane in tow was quick to make it into the gossip circles. By the time they had re-railed a fairly irritated Timothy and returned Rocky to the Search and Rescue Center, it seemed like everyone knew what had happened. 

As Edward pulled into Brendam docks, Bill and Ben rushed past him the other way with Rocky, who called out a faint “Mornin’ Edward” as he was hustled away. 

“What was that all about?” Edward watched them go with a faint look of confusion. 

“Derail at the Clay Pits,” Gator was sitting on the next track over, waiting for a goods train to be loaded, and this was the third time he had seen the two tank engines. They always seemed to be in quite a hurry. 

“Derail?” That wasn’t entirely unusual, with the way Bill and Ben worked, but usually they had a yard crane capable of setting tipped over trucks back onto their wheels. “What happened?”

“All I know is that an engine named ‘Timothy’ left the rails after hitting a set of points,” And it hadn’t been easy getting that much out of the twins. Gator still didn’t know most of the engines on the island, and watched the sometimes frantic happenings of the railway with the interested air of an uninvolved bystander. “The second Porter heard he rushed off.”

“I’m sure he did.” Edward was a little worried for the little oil burning engine, but knew that Timothy wasn’t particularly fast and probably hadn’t been hurt by a low-speed derail. “By the way, Gator, I wanted to thank you for doing such good work on the branch line.”

“Oh, no need to thank me, Edward.” Gator chuckled. “I’m always happy to do work, and to visit the Northwestern. On my home railway, there aren’t many engines. It gets a bit lonely sometimes. I like to come here and see all the activity.”

“Activity is one word for it.” Edward joked. Barely organized chaos was another. “Do you know how long you’ll be staying this time?”

“I actually don’t know.” Gator admitted. “My home railway just got a diesel to take over my usual route, so I’m not sure they’ll need me anymore.”

“Oh.” On the safe haven that was Sodor, it was sometimes easy to forget that the rest of the world was not so kind to steamers. “Well, maybe the Fat Controller will buy you.”

“I think I’d like that.” Gator always enjoyed his time on Sodor, and had been especially happy to be able to spend time with Percy without the underlying deadline of having to catch a ship. 

A dockyard worker signaled to Gator that his train was finished being loaded up, so the mountain climbing engine said goodbye to Edward and pulled out of the docks. As he left, Bill and Ben chuffed back in after having returned Rocky to the Search and Rescue Center. 

“Oh, Bill. Ben!” Edward called upon seeing the pair. 

Bill immediately screeched to a halt, causing Ben to bump into the back of him. Slowly, the two crept forward until they were alongside the older blue engine. It was well known that Edward was one of the only engines on the railway the twins actually respected and would listen to. He was also one of the only engines capable of reprimanding them. 

“Oh, hello Edward.” Bill managed. Behind him, Ben just gave a nervous grin. 

“What’s this I hear about Timothy being derailed?” Edward asked, giving the two a stern look. 

“Bill shoved him off the rails.” Ben said before his twin could deny involvement. 

“What?!” Bill responded indignantly. “I did not. The points weren’t aligned properly.”

“Because you were pushing him.” Ben insisted. 

“He was trying to pull a loaded train on his own!” A bit of guilt entered Bill’s voice, but he still felt the need to defend himself. 

“Bill, Ben,” Edward interrupted them before the argument could continue. “Timothy is capable of taking care of himself. He doesn’t need you two telling him what he can and can’t do.”

“Yes, but-“ Bill looked at the older engine in surprise. “He’s got a baby. They’re fragile things. And Timothy is always working, he’s got no sense of humor at all. If we don’t keep him from working, what if he hurts himself?”

Edward couldn’t help but smile a little. “Just because Timothy doesn’t share –your- sense of humor doesn’t mean he doesn’t have one. Timothy knows better than to work too hard, and he’s got Porter to look after him. Taking all his work makes him feel useless.”

The twins looked down at the tracks, shamed. To be useless was, well, death to a locomotive. 

“You’re on reduced duty.” Ben looked back up at Edward. Though the blue engine didn’t look any different, beyond appearing more tired than usual, the twins had certainly heard about his . . . delicate condition.

“Yes, I am.” Edward said indulgently. “But I am still pulling trains. For another month or two, at least.”

Both twins were silent for a moment, actually considering what Edward had said. 

“Fine,” Bill rolled his eyes and grinned, “I guess we’ll have to let Timothy work a little bit.”

“A little.” Ben added with his own cheeky smile. It faded a tad, though, as he looked at Edward. “Uh. Edward. Do you think we could maybe, uh, see? You know, the baby?”

“Oh! Yes, of course.” Edward didn’t mind them coming to look at all. He actually liked having his friends see and touch his belly, getting great enjoyment from the act of sharing the new life growing inside him. “Come over to the rear coach of my train.”

Bill and Ben quickly followed his instructions, climbing up into the carriage and sitting down in the bench across from Edward. The blue engine’s human form straightened as his consciousness entered it, Edward laughing at the twin’s eager expressions. 

Unwrapping the knitted shawl from his shoulders, Edward unbuttoned the bib of his overalls and lifted his shirt to expose his rounded middle. The baby kicked unhappily at the sudden cold air, the movement visible against his skin. 

“Whoa.” Bill leaned forward and pressed his hand against Edward’s abdomen, his twin seconds behind him. The two giggled as the baby kicked at their palms. 

“That’s really weird.” Ben poked at Edward’s bulge, feeling the small amount of give it had. “What does it feel like?”

“Feel like?” Edward contemplated that for a moment. It was very hard to describe how being pregnant felt. “Like I have a cleaner inside my boiler chipping at scale. But, it’s also a little like when the fitters are testing boiler repairs by filling you with water to your rated press. Heavy, and full.”

Both twins grimaced a little a pulled back. Neither of those things were very pleasant experiences. 

“It’s not that bad.” Edward insisted, pulling his shirt back down and doing his overalls back up. “And it’s only for another couple months. Then, the baby will be out in the world and with human parents.”

“Huh.” Bill and Ben stared at him for a little while longer, but eventually their short attention spans got the better of them. They couldn’t really afford to sit around all day when there was work to be done at the Clay Pits. 

As the two headed out of the docks and back to the Clay Pits, Edward got himself turned around and ready to head back towards Wellsworth. As he did so, he was a bit surprised to see Porter and Timothy come into the docks. 

“Hello, Timothy. I heard you derailed, are you okay?” Edward asked as he backed down on his coaches and was coupled up.

“Yes, I’m fine. Bill thought I needed ‘help’ with some trucks and started pushing from the back.” Timothy wasn’t really angry about the incident anymore, just tired. “The points were against me, though, and he was going too fast to stop.”

“I thought it would be good for Timothy to spend the rest of the day here at the docks shunting.” Porter explained. “Give the twins a little time to think about things.”

“I just spoke with them, actually.” And Edward hoped that it had done some good. It wasn’t easy to knock some lessons into Bill and Ben’s smokeboxes sometimes. “About not being so over-bearing. Hopefully, they’ll be a little better about respecting you in the future, Timothy.”

“Well, I guess I can dream.” Timothy said with a wry smile as he stopped over by the Roxstar. He was going to get his human body nice and comfortable in his borrowed berth, then spend the remainder of the day shunting at the docks with his partner. Not the worst turn of events after a shitty morning. 

Edward waited by the Brendam platform as passengers loaded aboard his train, then bid the two tank engines farewell and started making his way towards Wellsworth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Exploring the relationship between Timothy, Bill, and Ben is really fun. 
> 
> And finally, after chapters of threatening it, Edward has a chance to talk with those pesky tank engine twins.


	22. Chapter 22

Edward had a fairly comfortable routine that he settled into at the end of the day. Once he was finished with his work, he returned to Tidmouth and usually went straight to relax in bed and wait for James to return. He had his pregnancy books, and more recently a couple books on Sudric. These he read slowly, often sounding out the words and sentences with a hand on his belly to see if the baby responded to any. Be best to pick something the little one liked, after all. 

Sometimes, he had visitors in the form of his friends. They missed having the blue engine him join in with the late night shed gossip, and made an effort to continue to include him by coming to see how he was doing in his little back room. Thomas and Percy especially liked coming in to visit the older engine, always wanting to see how much the baby had grown since they’d seen Edward last. James always shooed them out when he arrived, though Edward honestly didn’t mind their company. 

One night, Edward was a bit surprised to have Emily visit him. The emerald engine had been a bit distant lately, still distracted by her rejection by Caitlin and current budding relationship with Lillie the Lightship. 

“Good evening, Emily.” Edward put aside his book and summoned a shirt to cover his bare torso as the younger engine slipped into his room. “How are you?”

“I’m okay,” There wasn’t anywhere in the room to sit except the bed, so Emily gently perched herself on the edge. “Actually. Well. I think I really like somebody and I want to tell them but I don’t know how and I’m afraid that if I do tell them they’ll just say no like Caitlin did.” 

The admission came out in a big, nervous rush that took Edward a few moments to decipher. It wasn’t a big surprise, to be honest. Edward was quite aware how much time Emily had been spending at Pirate’s Cove when she wasn’t pulling trains on his branch line, so it wasn’t hard to guess just who Emily was talking about. 

“This is about the lightship you’ve been spending time with, am I right?” Edward’s guess was proven correct when Emily blushed bright red. “In the end, it’s up to you if you want to tell her how you feel or not. There will always be the risk that someone may not return your feelings.”

This wasn’t the answer Emily wanted. She pursed her lips and fiddled with her hands in her lap. “But. What if she doesn’t like me back? Or worse, what if she’s already with someone else?”

It was clear that Emily was truly distressed over this. Edward never could stand to see one of his friends so down. “Look. How about I ask around and see if anyone knows if Lillie might be interested in you. Without mentioning your name, of course.”

“Would you really do that?” Emily’s face broke into a smile and she threw her arms around the other engine’s neck. “Oh, thank you, Edward!”

Edward grunted at the sudden added weight, rocking back against the nest of pillows he had created at the head of the bed. Immediately, Emily drew back with a little gasp. “Oh dear, I’m sorry. I didn’t hurt you right? Or the baby? Oh gosh.”

“I’m fine.” Edward reassured her. “I’m not that fragile, I promise. You won’t break me.”

“Oh, okay good.” Emily brightened right back up again, leaning forward to give Edward a little kiss on the cheek before she stood and bounced out of the room. “Thank you again!”

As Emily rushed out, James entered the room with a confused look on his face. 

“What was that all about?” The red engine asked, jabbing a thumb behind him at the door that Emily had just exited through. 

“Emily has another crush.” Edward explained, shifting slightly to make room for his partner.

“Oh dear.” James lay across Edward’s legs, pulling up the blue engine’s shirt so he could give his partner’s distended belly a kiss. “Who is it this time?”

“The lightship over at the Maritime Museum.” Edward explained. He gave a little laugh when James blew a raspberry against his skin, just to feel the baby respond. “Stop that, I actually want to be able to sleep tonight.”

James smirked, but agreeably moved to sit behind his partner instead, “So. A boat and an engine? That’s kind of weird.”

“Maybe a little,” Edward acknowledged, leaning back against James’ chest. “But whatever makes them happy. I promised Emily I would ask around to see what Lillie thinks first. I think she’s afraid of another incident like with Caitlin.”

“Maybe we really should start calling you Edward the Love Engine.” James teased, resting his chin on his partner’s shoulder. 

“Which of my crew mentioned that to you?” Edward really didn’t need a nickname. Especially not that one. To change the subject, he picked up the book on Sudric he had been reading and held it up. “Read to me?”

James didn’t especially like reading Sudric, always stumbling over the unfamiliar words, but couldn’t deny Edward anything. Especially when he caught sight of the blue engine’s milky-white blind eye and was reminded of just why Edward needed someone to read to him. Two years had tempered his guilt over that one, but not eliminated it. Taking the book, James opened it up and began to read. 

 

The next day, Edward was thinking about the promise he had made as he trotted down his branch line with his morning passenger train. He didn’t particularly want to go over to the maritime museum to speak with Lillie directly, mostly because he’d never had much conversation with the lightship before and it might seem a bit suspicious to suddenly come around asking about her love life. 

A solution presented itself when Edward reached Brendam and spotted a familiar ship tied up alongside the wharf. 

“Good morning, Hercules.” Edward called as he came to a halt next to the SS Roxstar and passengers began to disembark. 

“Morning, Edward m’dear. How are you today?” The large tugboat responded, always glad to see a friend when he got into port. He had been out to sea for a week, and was taking a well-needed day off before going back to work. 

“I am very well.” Edward responded with a smile, “Hey, Hercules. Do you know Lillie Lightship very well?”

“Know her?” Hercules was a bit surprised at the question. “Lillie darling is one of my closest friends. Why do you ask?”

Now that was very convenient indeed. “I have a friend who has romantic feelings towards her, and is wondering how Lillie feels about such things. Is she already seeing anyone?”

“It wouldn’t happen to be a green steam engine, would it? Lillie has mentioned one to me,” Hercules still made a point to go and visit Lillie as often as he could, even though she no longer stood a lonely sentinel alone at sea. “As a lightship, Lillie didn’t get to spend much time with friends or have a relationship. I think it would be wonderful if her engine friend wanted more.”

That was very much a relief to know. Edward really hadn’t wanted to give Emily bad news, knowing that would just break the emerald engine’s heart. “Thank you, Hercules. I’ll be sure to tell Emily that.”

“I hope it goes well.” Hercules said sincerely. “And how have you been doing? With everything?”

“I am doing fine. Maybe a little tired.” Edward admitted. He no longer begrudged his crew for making him take more time off, beginning to appreciate the ability to just relax sometimes with no responsibilities. “Myself and James have been considering names lately. Any advice?”

“Unfortunately not.” Hercules chuckled. “Good human names are beyond me. Triton is very lucky he did not receive the name ‘Spindrift’ instead. I chose Triton because it is from the same mythology as my own name.”

“I see.” Edward had to refocus his attention when he heard the guard’s whistle blow. Time to return to Wellsworth. “Well, thank you Hercules. I’m sure I’ll see you later.”

 

After a pleasant journey down the branch line, Edward pulled into Wellsworth station just in time to see Emily at the other platform. 

“Oh, Emily!” Edward called out before she could leave. “I spoke with one of my friends at Brendam today.”

“You did?” Emily wasn’t sure whether to be excited or terrified. “What did they say?”

“He said that Lillie isn’t seeing anyone, and would probably love to be closer with someone. He also said Lillie has talked about you with him.”

“Really?!” Emily’s eyes went wide with excitement. “Oh, thank you Edward. I can’t wait to go and tell her.” She jumped down from her cab in human form and ran over to Edward, hopping up to give him a kiss on the nose before vanishing. With a squeal of excitement, Emily pulled out of the station. 

Edward watched her go with amusement, nose tingling a bit where he had been kissed. Inside his cab, both Sidney and Charlie were laughing their asses off. 

“Come on, Love Engine.” Charlie pulled the engine forward into a siding and retrieved their lunches. “Time for lunch.”

“Please tell me that isn’t going to become a thing now.” Edward pleaded as his driver helped him step down from one of the coaches. “Why did I suddenly become the go-to for relationship advice?”

“You hooked up with James and got pregnant.” Charlie pointed out with a grin, walking with the engine over to a nearby bench. 

Edward gave his driver an un-amused look, but accepted the lunch box and opened it up. At least Charlie always packed good food, even if he insisted on teasing his engine incessantly. 

 

Of course, Edward had to admit his driver had a point later that night when Emily burst back into his room, startling James, and wrapped her arms around him in a big hug. 

“Thank you, Edward! I told her today, and she said yes!” Emily gushed happily. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” James peeled Emily off his partner, “No touching.”

“It’s okay, James.” Edward put a comforting hand on his partner’s arm before returning his attention to Emily. “I’m glad it worked out, Emily. I can tell she makes you happy.”

“She’s just so nice, and pretty. And has all these interesting stories.” Emily sighed dreamily. “I hope you all get to meet her.” The emerald engine suddenly sat up straight, attention diverted elsewhere. “I should go and tell the others! Thanks again, Edward.” And she rushed out. 

“That engine is far too excitable.” James muttered as he settled back into bed with his partner.

“She is young.” Edward reminded the red engine. Though Emily looked like an older model, she was actually a replica and much younger than she appeared. “Maybe this will help her settle down a little.”

“I doubt it.” James muttered. It wasn’t something worth contesting, though. Not when he was curled up warm and safe with his partner and their unborn child. James pressed the length of his body up against Edward’s, enjoying the way the swell of the blue engine’s heavy belly pressed into his own, and let out a contented hum. He already had everything he wanted. 

 

The news of a steam engine starting a relationship with a ship made some waves on the Northwestern. So far, none of the engines had dated outside the railway. The closest was Belle with Flynn, but they were both fire engines so nobody found it particularly unusual. A lightship and a tender engine, though, that was kind of weird. 

What was clear to everyone, though, was that Emily had finally been brought out of her funk and was now a much happier engine. Everyone was very close on the Northwestern Railway, and the mood of one engine affected all others, so this was very good news indeed. 

Since the mood of the engines affected the crews as well, even the crews were happy to hear about Emily’s new relationship. None more so than her driver. 

Still, Edward was a bit surprised to receive a visit from Emily’s driver Dennis one evening. Crews didn’t often interact one-on-one with engines that were not theirs. 

“Hey, Edward.” Dennis closed the door behind him and stood next to the bed, not wanting to infringe on the blue engine’s space but having a hard time of it in the very small room. “I just wanted to thank you for helping out Emily. This was really important to her.”

“Of course.” Edward put aside his book and pushed himself into a more comfortable sitting position. “I am always happy to help one of my friends.”

“I know. I still wanted to thank you anyway.” Dennis secretly thought that the Northwestern was lucky to have an engine like Edward working on it. “I also wanted to see how you were doing. You know, with your pregnancy and the baby and all.”

“I am fine. The doctor says that the baby is growing well. As you can probably see.” The baby seemed to know that they were being talked about and kicked suddenly, making Edward laugh and press a hand to his side. “Driver told me to think of names, so I’ve been reading some books for inspiration. I thought it might be nice to pick something in Sudric.”

“That sounds very nice.” Dennis hadn’t lived on the island long, only a few years, but he had seen the old culture that still existed on Sodor and had great respect for it. “If you ever want any advice or anything. I know you have your own crew to talk to, but, I’ve been there before too. And, I also brought something else for you.”

Dennis held out an oversized book with stiff pages. The title “The Littlest Engine” stood out in bold letters above a drawing of a smiling steam engine, bent up corners and a scuffed cover showing that this was a book that had been well used and loved. 

“It was a favorite of my kids. But I don’t see them anymore, and. I thought you might get more use out of it.” Dennis explained somewhat awkwardly as Edward took the children’s book. “I know you aren’t raising the baby. But, I guess I still thought you might like it.”

“No, it’s great. Thank you.” Once again, Edward was pleasantly surprised by the compassion of the humans in his life. He paged through the book, looking at the well worn pages. “You’re sure you don’t want to keep it?”

“I’m sure.” 

The door to the room opened again, this time it was James entering. He paused and looked between the human and his partner suspiciously.

“Well, I should go.” Dennis nodded to James and slipped out of the room.

“You’re very popular lately.” James commented as he flopped down on the bed. He looked curiously at the book in Edward’s hand. It was much too thin to be one of the library books the blue engine had been reading. “What’s that?”

“Emily’s driver gave it to me. It’s a book for young children.” Edward handed the book over so that James could look through it curiously. Once again, the red engine was reminded of all the things he couldn’t provide for his partner. 

To get his mind off it, James instead picked up the Sudric book they had been working on and opened it to a bookmarked page. Edward had taken to writing down words that he liked, to bring to his driver later and see if they would be suitable for a human name. James (since his suggestion of naming the baby James II had been rejected) had announced he was happy with whatever his partner chose. He’d never been great at names anyway. 

 

Archie Binns was also very interested in the latest relationship on the Northwestern Railway. The student researcher had been working with some the diesels about early memories, but hadn’t been having too much luck. Several of the diesel engines were, at least, eager and willing to talk with him. They had confirmed for him that diesel locomotives came alive the first time their engines were started up after the completion of their frames. None of them had memories from before that time beyond vague senses of emotions, mostly negative. Nothing concrete, though. 

The love lives of the engines were much easier to research and just as interesting. The most human-like thing about the engines was their relationships, and Archie had been a little surprised to hear the genuine affection in the voices of the engines as they spoke of their partners. 

It was no different talking with Emily and Lillie. They hadn’t known each other nearly as long as the other couples on the island, many of whom had worked together for years before getting together, but the tender engine and the lightship seemed no less affectionate. Emily’s excitement and enthusiasm was tempered by Lillie’s much calmer demeanor, and Archie left the interview with them feeling like he’d gotten some more good material for his research. 

If there was thing about the Northwestern Railway Archie had noticed, it was that things were never boring. Between accidents, festivals, and relationships something always seemed to be happening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just devoting a little time to my favorite crack/pet pairing of Emily and Lillie Lightship. Odd to think that a joke I thought up one afternoon has gone this far.


	23. Chapter 23

Barely two weeks had gone by since Edward had helped Emily ‘couple up’ when he got another visitor with a similar problem. This time, though, it was a certain little green tank engine who wanted advice. 

“Hello, Percy.” Edward was very surprised indeed to see the green tank engine alone without Thomas at his side. “How are you?”

“Uh, well.” Percy fiddled with his hands nervously as he sat down on the edge of the blue engine’s bed. “I had something. That I wanted to ask you. It’s about, um, it’s about Gator.”

Edward had somewhat expected this, sooner or later. He sat up straighter and shifted to sit next to the younger engine. “And what’s this about Gator, then?”

“Well, uh.” Percy couldn’t seem to look at Edward, staring down at his lap instead. “H-how do you know if you like someone? Really like them?”

“Well, there are lots of things.” Edward tried to organize all the things he felt about James into words. “You’re always thinking about them, even when you aren’t together. When they’re happy, it makes you happy. And when they’re sad, you would do anything to make them feel better. You love spending time with them, and think that it wouldn’t be so bad to spend the rest of your life with them.”

This didn’t seem to cheer up Percy any. Instead, he just looked even more downcast. “But. I feel that way about Thomas –and- Gator. What am I supposed to do?”

That was one Edward didn’t really have an answer for. He did know who to ask, however. “Has Gordon returned to the shed yet?”

“Uh, yeah.” Percy blinked at the sudden change of subject, wondering just what the big express engine had to do with all of this. “He got back just after I did.”

“Come on. Gordon’s driver is a very smart man who knows much more about relationships than I do.” With some effort, Edward managed to lever himself off the bed and onto his feet. His back immediately protested the change in position, along with his ankles, but he ignored the discomfort. 

Percy followed close behind the blue engine as they slowly made their way through the main body of Tidmouth Sheds to where Gordon was sitting in the stall on the end. As they approached, Gordon’s driver Sam stepped down from the cab and spotted them with a look of surprise.

“Hey you two. What’s going on?” Sam looked at Edward with a bit of concern. “Are you alright, Edward?”

“I am fine.” Edward reassured the man. “But Percy here has a question for you.” He pushed the younger engine forward.

“I think I’m in love with Thomas and Gator!” Percy blurted. It was lucky that Thomas had not returned yet, because he had been loud enough for the entire shed to hear.

Gordon snorted and muttered something that sounded like “tank engines” in a dark tone only to be shushed by Henry. Percy turned a bright shade of red. 

“Ignore him.” Sam advised. “The most important thing for you to do right now is to talk about this to Thomas and Gator. Preferably both at the same time. Do you think you could handle a relationship with both of them at the same time?”

“You can do that?” Percy asked, eyes wide. That would be ideal to him, to have both the fun-loving adventurous spirit of Thomas and the calmer, more mature Gator there with him. 

“You can do that if you’re careful and communicate.” Sam warned. “Make sure they both know that they’d be sharing you, and that they’re okay with that. Assuming both return your feelings of course. But you gotta talk to them.”

“Right. I can do that.” Percy said with fresh determination. “I’ll do it tomorrow. Thanks, Gordon’s driver!” He vanished back to his body to do some more planning. 

“I have a name you know.” Sam muttered, knowing full well it was probably a futile effort. Shaking his head fondly, he turned his attention to Edward. “And you, you’re really doing okay?”

“Yes. Really.” Edward was getting a little tired of that question, but understood where it was coming from. He moved back a few steps until he could lean against the back wall of the shed. The weight of the baby was becoming more than a little unwieldy. “I am a little tired, but the baby seems to be growing well.”

“I can see that.” Sam commented with a chuckle. Edward looked like he’d swallowed a beach ball. “That’s good, at least. Did you and James maybe want to go out tonight? You haven’t been to the pub in weeks.”

“No. That’s alright.” Edward did like going out with James, but hadn’t been to the Cuff since his pregnancy had gotten more obvious. “Driver doesn’t think it would be a good idea. He thinks people would get suspicious, and that people wouldn’t understand.”

Sam frowned, making a note to have a chat with Charlie later, but didn’t argue the point. “If you think that’s best.”

Just then, James pulled into the shed, and he was very surprised to see his partner up and about rather than sitting in bed.

“Edward?” James came over, looking between his partner and Sam. “Are you sure you should be up?”

“Really, James. A little walking around isn’t going to hurt me.” Edward rolled his eyes, but allowed himself to be ushered back to his little room. He knew James was just concerned about him. 

 

Fall marched steadily towards winter, the weather growing more cold and rainy by the day. It was not a season the engines were generally fond of, but passenger and goods work kept them busy. 

Percy hadn’t visited Edward again, but the blue engine had seen him cuddling with or kissing both Thomas and Gator at various times, so clearly it had gone well. Edward was very happy for them, and sincerely hoped that it would help teach both Percy and Thomas a little more responsibility. 

Edward was still working, though even he had to admit that it was becoming a bit of a struggle. The baby liked to keep him up all night, making Edward feel tired all day, and was an almost constant distraction. As Edward worked, he often found his mind wandering to other things. Like the still un-chosen name, or his impending due date, until he nearly missed a station and had to back up to the platform. Maybe his crew had a point about going on full-time break for the rest of his pregnancy. 

One particularly drizzly day found Edward rolling down his branch line with the normal morning passenger train. Everything was a shade of grey, heavy cloud cover sucking the colour from the world in a way that made it somewhat difficult to see. Edward still struggled a little bit to differentiate objects without strong contrast at a distance. 

Still, nothing seemed particularly out of the ordinary as Edward left Wellsworth and continued south on his branch line. This part of the line was fairly heavily forested until Suddery, blocking out even the meager daylight that managed to penetrate the clouds. Edward had worked this line for so long, though, that he didn’t need to see to know where he was. Aware that there was a crossing ahead, Edward blew his whistle in anticipation to warn any road traffic that he was coming. He didn’t expect, then, to round the bend and find an automobile stalled on the tracks. Rain had made the gravel road muddy and pitted, causing the vehicle to get high-centered trying to cross the track. The wheels spun uselessly in the mud as the people inside the car desperately tried to get out of the way of the oncoming train.

Edward immediately hit his brakes, gritting his teeth with effort as he tried to stop. But the rails were slippery and his train heavy. Though he had slowed significantly, Edward still impacted the vehicle with a fair amount of force. The car was shoved down the rails for several meters before rolling off to one side of the track, Edward coming to a stop not far past it. 

Silence fell over the scene as the dust and dirt settled, but the sound of metal on metal and the screams of the people who had been inside the car still reverberated through Edward’s mind as he sat there in shock. He would probably never get their terrified faces out of his memory. 

People poured out of the coaches to the crushed vehicle, pulling out the dazed and bloody passengers that had been inside. The guard jogged down the track to the nearest telephone to call for an ambulance and to report the accident, while Charlie went around to check on Edward. 

It had been a fairly low speed crash, so the damage wasn’t severe to Edward’s front end. The engine would probably need a new buffer beam, but otherwise appeared to be okay and capable of running under his own power. 

“Edward, you alright?” Avoiding the bent buffer beam, which probably hurt, Charlie reached up and patted the engine’s cheek instead. “Edward?”

The blue engine’s eyes looked down and focused on his driver, but he still didn’t say anything. 

“Come on, Edward.” Charlie needed to know if Edward was in any particular kind of pain, “Does anything hurt? What about your other body, the baby?”

“No.” Edward’s voice was very soft, “It’s. . okay. Those people, what about them?”

Charlie looked back to where several of their passengers were helping the banged up accident victims out of their mangled vehicle alongside the tracks. The three people were bruised and bleeding, and two of them weren’t moving as the rescuers laid them down on the ballast. They certainly didn’t look good, but Charlie thought they would probably survive. Besides that, the engine didn’t need any bad news right now, “I think they’re okay.”

“Good.” Edward fell silent again, staring at the tracks in front of him. 

The ambulance showed up a minute or two later, packing up the three injured people and driving away again with lights blazing. Soon after, BoCo arrived with a goods train in tow. He gasped and slowed to a stop when he saw the crushed car lying not far from Edward. 

“Oh god, Edward. What happened?” BoCo left his trucks in a siding and came over to take the blue engine’s passenger coaches. 

“Car stalled at the crossing.” Charlie answered when it became clear that Edward wouldn’t. He uncoupled the coaches from the blue engine so that BoCo could pull them away and over onto the other track. “BoCo, could we have your brake van?”

“Oh, sure.” BoCo brought over his brake van and Charlie hitched it up behind Edward. 

“Can you move to your human form, Edward?’ Charlie asked as he went back around to the front of his engine. “We need to take you to the steamworks, so we’ve got to get it down from the coaches and over to this brake van.”

Edward’s face vanished from the smokebox, the door to one of the carriages opening a few moments later. Tim, the guard, carefully helped Edward down from the carriage and walked him over to the brake van. Charlie ran back to join them, knowing how hard it was for Edward to get up into rolling stock from flat ground. 

As BoCo pulled away with the coaches to finish the run, Charlie helped Edward sit down on one of the hard bunks in the brake van. The engine still looked to be in shock, eyes wide and expression blank as he rested both hands on the bulge of his abdomen. 

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Charlie really hoped that he wasn’t about to go into early labor or something. 

That seemed to open the floodgates. Edward took in a shaking breath and tears began to fall from his eyes. He hunched over slightly and pressed the palms of his hands against his eyes, shoulders shaking as he cried. 

“Oh dear.” Charlie sat down next to his engine and put an arm around his shoulders. “Come on, it’s alright. You’re fine and those people who were in the car will be okay.”

It quickly became clear that Edward was not going to be able to take control for the run to Crovan’s Gate. Charlie really didn’t want to leave him alone, but Edward was a large enough engine that Sidney would not be able to both fire and run the controls on his own. 

“Just lay down here and relax.” Charlie guided Edward to lie down on the bunk, rearranging his knitted wrap over him like a blanket. “We’ll be at the Steamworks real soon, okay?”

As Charlie climbed back up into the cab, Sidney gave him a concerned look. “Is he alright?”

“He’s pretty shaken up.” Charlie slowly started them forward, trying hard not to jerk or jostle them unnecessarily as he very carefully headed for Crovan’s Gate. “I hope it’s just hormones and not something worse. But we’ve got to get to the Steamworks before we can do anything more.”

 

It was a fairly slow day at the Sodor Steamworks. Just routine maintenance, no big crashes or accidents to worry about. Archie Binns was taking advantage of the lull to interview the works foreman about his experience with engines, as he seemed to be the only one willing to talk about some . . . uncomfortable subjects. 

“So, could you describe to me what happens when an engine dies?” Archie didn’t want to be insensitive, but this was just as important as how engines were born. 

“Well, it depends.” The foreman, an older gentleman named Hank, scratched at his chin idly. If he was bothered by the subject, it didn’t show. “A big enough accident can kill an engine. Boiler explosion will usually do it, or a particularly bad wreck. Some make it, some don’t. You can put an engine back together after an accident sometimes, but the spirit doesn’t always return. An engine will work just as fine, but it won’t be alive anymore.

“Scrapping’ll do it too. Strip enough parts off a locomotive and usually the spirit will give up and move on. Most engines choose to go before the torches come out. In the old days, before modernization, an engine would get word they were up for scrapping and they would pass on quietly when their time came.”

Archie nodded, remembering hearing something similar when Edward had given him his story. “So, what happens when an engine moves on?”

“Well they just, you know, leave.” Hank made a gesture with his hands, “Pass over, or whatever word you want to use. Their bodies are totally workable, but their face is gone and so is their soul.”

“I see,” Archie made a few notes, but before he could ask anything else they were distracted by a commotion at the entrance to the works building. 

Machinery was put into motion as a blue tender engine rolled into the Steamworks, the turntable directing the engine over into one of the repair bays. Archie recognized the engine as being Edward, though there was no face on the smokebox. His buffer beam was badly bent and much of the paint was missing, evidence of an impact with something, but otherwise he appeared relatively undamaged. So where was the soul?

“What happened?” Hank asked the driver as the man climbed down from the cab and headed for the brake van that was still coupled up behind. 

“Car stalled at a crossing. We t-boned it pretty hard.” Charlie explained, “I think the buffers took the worst of it, but he should probably get a good look over just in case.”

“And the brake van?” Hank didn’t like when perfectly functional rolling stock was sitting around taking up space in his shop. 

“Edward’s in his human body. He’s pretty shook up about all this. The brake van was the easiest thing to take along.” Charlie clambered up onto the rear look-out of the brake van. “We don’t really want him riding along in the cab with the pregnancy and all.”

“Right.” Hank had almost forgotten about the blue engine’s condition, as he typically only ever looked after the mechanics of their engine bodies. “Well, we should have a spare buffer beam around. I’ll have the boys give him a look over, and if nothing else is wrong we should have you out of here by tonight.”

“Excellent, thanks.” Charlie didn’t have time to stick around and chat, though. He wanted to make sure Edward was okay.

Entering the dim interior of the brake van, the engine driver could see that Edward at least was still where he had left him. The blue engine was curled up as best as he could on the bunk, arms wrapped around his middle as he cried quietly.

“Hey, Edward.” Charlie gently touched his shoulder, “We’re at the Steamworks now. Do you want to stay in here while they work?”

Edward managed to nod, though he didn’t say anything. 

A noise made Charlie look up, and he saw Archie peeking in through the door to the cabin. Silently, Charlie shook his head. Edward wasn’t up for any kind of interview or questions. Nodding, Archie left. He had hoped to talk briefly about the experience of accidents involving humans, but it was very clear that it was an inopportune time. That was okay, he had some other things to get to that day anyway. 

As Archie left the Steamworks for other places on the island, Sir Topham Hatt pulled in. The railway owner nodded to the student researcher as he purposefully strode into the works. He never liked coming in to see one of his engines after a crash, especially one like this where nothing could have been done. 

A workman directed him up into the brakevan sitting in the back of the building, and inside he found a sight that broke his heart a little bit. Sir Topham never could stand to see one of his engines in such emotional distress. 

Charlie straightened up when he spotted his boss come in, reaching over to give Edward’s shoulder a shake. “Hey, Edward. The Fat Controller is here, he wants to talk to you.”

That was enough to get Edward to push himself into a sitting position, pulling his shawl around him like a security blanket as he wiped at his eyes. Charlie gave him an encouraging pat before slipping outside to let Sir Topham speak to the engine in private. 

“Hello, Edward.” Sir Topham sat on the edge of the bunk. This wasn’t the place for orders and authority. “Do you want to tell me what happened?”

“I came around the bend, and there was a car on the tracks.” Edward whispered. “I tried to stop but I cou-couldn’t. I hit the car, and there were people inside.”

“The passengers in the car are fine.” Sir Topham reassured, “I called the hospital before I came here. They’ll be in casts for awhile, but they’ll live. This wasn’t your fault, you did the best you could to stop.”

The knowledge that he hadn’t killed anyone calmed Edward a little bit, though his shoulders still shook from his uneven breaths. Sir Topham Hatt was no expert on pregnancy, but he did know that stress wasn’t good. He didn’t like the way Edward had both hands pressed against his belly, though he didn’t appear to be in pain. 

“I know you won’t like this, but I think it’s time for you to stop working and take time off until the baby comes.” The railway owner had certainly noticed the blue engine’s work beginning to slip, though he hadn’t wanted to order Edward off his work. It seemed that decision had been taken from him, though.

Edward looked up at his owner sharply, eyes red, “Sir? I promise to work harder, and be more careful-“

“It’s not that. You aren’t in any trouble.” Sir Topham tried to keep him calm. “But you could’ve been hurt much worse today. I’d feel better if you stayed safe and relaxed for the next two months.”

He could’ve been hurt. His baby could’ve been hurt. Edward felt tears afresh run down his cheeks even as he nodded. For once, work wasn’t the most important thing right now. 

There wasn’t much more Sir Topham could do. Standing, he let Charlie come back in while he went out to speak with Hank. The news here was, at least, good. No damage beyond a bent buffer beam, which would be replaced before nightfall. Satisfied with that news, Sir Topham headed back to his office to start rearranging the train schedules. 

 

News, especially bad news, travelled very quickly on the Northwestern Railway. When James heard that his partner had been involved in an accident, he immediately abandoned his work and rushed straight to the Steamworks. The Fat Controller could reprimand him for leaving the goods train later. 

Rushing into the Steamworks, James was out of his body and running across the works in human form before he’d even stopped moving. The sight of Edward’s engine body without a buffer beam was somewhat disturbing, worse was the fact that his soul wasn’t there. 

A workman was quick to point him towards the brake van, which he jumped inside without delay. Upon seeing him enter, Charlie was quick to stand and let James take his place at Edward’s side. 

“Edward!” James threw himself at his partner, wrapping both arms around the blue engine and hugging him tightly. “I heard there was a crash. What happened, are you okay? Is the baby okay?”

“Car on the line.” Edward rested his head on James’ shoulder, relaxing a little bit now that his partner was there. “I hit it. There- there were people inside. They’re alive, but hurt really bad.”

“Serves them right.” James said severely. “They should know better than to be on an active rail line.”

This was not the right thing to say. Edward curled up against James’ chest and shuddered as he cried harder. Inside, James panicked a little. He could handle Edward crying because he was happy, but this was true emotional distress. This was not something James knew how to handle. 

“Oh dear.” James ran one hand up and down Edward’s spine, the other moving to rub little circles on his belly. Inside, James could feel the baby squirming unhappily, but otherwise the little one seemed to be okay. Thank god. “Come on, Edward. It- it’s alright. You’re gonna be alright.”

There didn’t seem to be much else for James to do except hang on and keep murmuring little reassurances. And hopefully, that would be enough.


	24. Chapter 24

Archie Binns had been excited to come to the Island of Sodor for several reasons. It was home to the largest collection of living engines in the country, for one, but he also knew that the oldest living engine still alive could be found on the island. Stephenson’s Rocket was not the first steam engine, nor the first living one, but was the only engine from that early era still alive in the modern day. 

The one problem was that Stephenson’s Rocket was not owned by the Northwestern Railway. Archie had asked Sir Topham to see if the Earl of Sodor would allow him to come and interview his engines, and finally he had gotten word back. The student researcher spent the morning at the Steamworks interviewing the foreman, but after Edward came in damaged and needing repair Archie decided it was time to head up to Ulfstead castle. 

Meeting the actual, real-life Stephenson’s Rocket was an experience Archie never thought he would actually get. 

“Um, Hello.” Archie had been allowed into the engine shed at Ulfstead, which was empty except for the engine he was interviewing. “My name is Archie Binns. I’m doing a research project, and I was hoping to ask you a few questions.”

“Hello, come in. My name is Stephen, it’s nice to meet you.” The elderly engine was always happy to talk to people and answer questions, especially in the rainy off season when few tourists came to visit the castle. 

“Stephen? Short for Stephenson’s Rocket, I assume?” Archie dragged over a little chair sitting against the wall so that he could comfortably sit facing Stephen and pulled out his tape recorder. Names were still of a great interest to him. Most of the Sudrian engines seemed to have fairly normal, human names, but Archie knew that a great many engines in the world carried far more interesting monikers. 

“Yes, the name comes from my maker. I was called the Rocket for most of my life, until Sir Robert purchased me.” Stephen hadn’t really minded being called “Rocket,” but did appreciate the name he had now. The reminder of the man who had built him. “He thought it was a little impersonal.”

“I see.” Archie noted that down, and started going through his list of questions. Stephen turned out to be an excellent story-teller, happy to spin yarns about his early days and what his first memories were like. He spoke fondly of “siblings,” not related in the traditional locomotive sense of being built from the same plans, but instead other engines built by Stephenson as inspired by the success of Rocket at the Rainhill trials. 

Though Archie could sit and listen to Stephen tell stories all day, there were a few more specific topics he wanted to address. After all, Stephen wasn’t just the first successful steam locomotive. He was also the first engine to strike and kill a human on the tracks. 

“Now, this may be a rather dark subject. And you’re free not to answer if you don’t want to.” Archie really didn’t want to get his access to the railway revoked, but this was a subject he needed to hear about. “Would you be willing to talk about the accident in 1830? On the Opening day of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway?”

The smile fell from Stephen’s face. That was not a proud moment in his history, though he’d had almost 150 years to come to terms with the incident. “It was a hugely advertised event, dignitaries came from all around to ride on our trains. I attended, along with many of my siblings. . .”

 

Everything was going well for the opening day of the L&M railway. Eight trains had departed Liverpool on time, seven running on one track and one, carrying the Duke of Wellington, on another. 

The train carrying the Duke stopped for water and many of the very important guests climbed down from their carriages to stretch their legs. One man, William Huskisson, went forward to try and speak with the Duke. 

The Rocket was coming down the adjacent line, rolling along happily with his train, when the driver and fireman spotted the man standing on the tracks. There was no real way of warning him, except to yell. Rocket called out as loud as he could “LOOK OUT, LOOK OUT,” but the man only seemed to get confused. The engine attempted to stop as the human tried to get up into one of the carriages, but he slipped back down onto the track. Rocket hit the man, Huskisson bouncing off the engine’s face before falling beneath the wheels of the coaches. There was an awful crunch and a scream. 

Rocket finally managed to stop, eyes wide with shock as people swarmed the carriages to try and pull the wounded man from beneath them. His leg was, well, it wasn’t really a leg anymore. 

George Stephenson himself drove the train that rushed the badly injured Huskisson to the hospital, leaving everyone else wondering whether to cancel the planned event or continue on to Manchester. 

Rocket’s driver and fireman came around to the front of the engine to check for any damage that would prevent them from carrying on. 

“You alright there, engine?” The driver asked, not seeing any damage from the impact but wanting to make certain. 

“I. Think so?” Rocket managed. Everything had happened so fast. One second, it seemed like a sure thing that the human would get out of the way. The next second, he was under the train. “That man-“

“Nothing that could have been done.” The driver shook his head sadly. “He probably won’t make it, that leg looked bad.”

There was a burning sensation in both of Rocket’s eyes, and the engine was surprised to feel water on his cheeks. This drew the attention of driver and fireman, who had never seen such a thing. 

“Do you think it’s really-?” The fireman was a little unnerved to see what looked like a locomotive crying. Engines weren’t supposed to be capable of such emotions. 

“No. Probably just a boiler leak or something.” Still, the driver crouched down to look into Rocket’s eyes. “I think it’ll be okay. Come on, engine, we have to keep on.”

The more solemn procession continued on to Manchester, where the crowds had grown drunk and unruly due to the delay. They swarmed the track, forcing the engines to actually physically push them out of the way. With every warm body that pressed against his boiler and smokebox, Rocket feared there would be a scream, blood, pain. Humans shouldn’t be this close to the railroad tracks, it just didn’t end well. 

 

“We eventually managed to turn around and get back to Liverpool. I later heard that the person I hit did, in fact, die.” Stephen sighed heavily. “I didn’t really understand what that meant back then. I didn’t stay at passenger service much longer after that, my later siblings were much better suited for it, and I was a little grateful. I still get a bit nervous when I see big crowds around the tracks, though I haven’t had an accident in years.”

“I see. Well, thank you for talking to me about this.” Archie turned off his recorder and pocketed his notebook. 

“Of course. I hope it helps with whatever project it is you’re working on.” Stephen said sincerely. 

“I think it will.” With that, Archie left Ulfstead and headed for Knapford. He wanted to talk to Sir Topham. 

 

In his office at Knapford, Sir Topham Hatt had an array of timetables and schedules laid out in front of him. Edward was officially off all train pulling duties at least through New Year’s, so he needed to make sure that other engines would be able to cover his work. 

BoCo, ever reliable and responsible, would hopefully be able to take over running the branch line. Gator was doing a very good job handling the goods traffic, and Emily would be able to pick up more passenger trains on the line. Sir Topham decided to move James to the line as well, the red mixed-traffic engine could handle all the same work Edward did, and should be able to keep the branch line running without a hitch. Of course, then he would need to find someone to take over James’ main line work. 

He had also been asked to send a shunting engine up to the Clay Pits to take over for Timothy, who had decided to remain at the docks until the baby came. Sir Topham mentally went through the list of shunting engines he had on his roster. He could send his new diesel boxcab, but the thought of Philip running around with Bill and Ben, the twin terrors, was a rather horrifying image. Maybe he’d send someone like Stanley instead. 

A knock on the office door distracted the railway owner from his scheduling work. He gave an irritated sigh and briefly considered just not answering the door, before giving a weary “Come in.”

Archie slipped inside the office, a little surprised to see the pile of paperwork spread across the desk. “Hi. I was hoping I might be able to talk to you a little bit about the accident today.”

“Yes, Edward’s crash.” Sir Topham neatened up his desk a little bit and shook his head. “Unfortunate that it happened to Edward, but things like this happen sometimes. The auto that was struck was being driven by three teens who ditched school, and happened to get stuck on the tracks just as Edward approached. At least the hospital reports they’ll be alright in a few weeks.”

“Are these kind of accidents common on Sodor?” Archie knew that crashes and injuries were, maybe not common, but certainly happened often enough on mainland railways. “How does it affect the engines?”

“Accidents involving people aren’t common, no. But any engine who works on the rails long enough will eventually be involved in the serious injury or death of a person.” It was an unfortunate fact of working on the railway. So many people just didn’t understand that a train a hundred meters away had seen them, and was applying its brakes, and still would not stop in time. And then there were the people who committed suicide on the tracks, though thankfully that was becoming much less common. “No engine likes to be involved with the injury of a person, no matter how slight. They are built to serve.”

“And what is standard procedure if an engine has been involved in an accident resulting in serious injury or death?” Archie knew that Edward had been removed from service, but the blue engine was somewhat of a special case. 

“Well, there will usually be an investigation of the crash. The engine involved will remain in the shed while that occurs. Usually, repairwork is also required. Depending on the damage, an engine is usually back in service within a week or two.”

“Is there. . . any kind of counseling for engines?” Archie knew that living machine psychology wasn’t exactly a field that existed, but surely there was someone to discuss emotional difficulties with them. “Something to help them deal with the accident?”

“No.” Sir Topham admitted. Most railways saw the engines as simply tools to get a job done. Though it wasn’t quite like that on the Northwestern, there was still this idea that engines simply didn’t get emotionally affected by such things. Even though today was plenty evidence that they did. “The engines have their crews. It is usually the job of the driver and fireman to determine if their engine is ready to return to work or not.”

“I see.” Archie made note of that, then turned off his tape recorder and looked at the Fat Controller with genuine concern. “Do you think Edward will be okay?”

“Yes, I think he’ll be fine.” At least, Sir Topham sincerely hoped so. “Edward has been working on the railway for a very long time. This is not the first time he has been involved in an accident, and certainly is not the worst. I think it’s just the stress that’s gotten to him.”

Archie knew that he shouldn’t get this emotionally invested in his research subjects, but couldn’t help but worry. 

 

As the foreman of the Steamworks had promised, Edward was finished being repaired and ready to leave by nightfall. James had stayed with him all day, in human form when he could manage and as an engine when he couldn’t. Slowly, Edward came off the emotional high from the accident and calmed down. By the time his new buffer beam was finished being fitted, he was no longer liable to burst into tears and ready to drive himself again as he and James headed back to Tidmouth Sheds. 

“Are you sure you don’t have any other jobs tonight?” Edward asked again as they travelled down the mainline. He felt guilty that James had completely abandoned his work just to come and sit with him in the Steamworks. 

“It’s not important. Just goods trains. Somebody else can take them.” James said firmly. He knew there would probably be consequences, but going and pulling some dusty old trucks would never be as important as being there for his partner. 

Edward frowned, but knew that James wouldn’t be swayed. And, honestly, he didn’t really want the red engine to leave. 

After a confusing, emotional day, Edward was very grateful to sink down onto his borrowed bed and change out of his day clothes. 

“Do you want to read something?” James offered, picking up one of the books at the end of the bed at random. 

“No, not right now.” Edward didn’t feel up to the task of concentrating on books at the moment. “I think, I’d like to go take a shower.” The warm, relaxing water would probably do him some good. 

“Great idea.” James eagerly agreed. He loved showering with his partner, enjoying the opportunity to observe Edward’s changing body without the hindrance of clothing in the way. The red engine fetched the soap and a towel, then assisted Edward in walking over to the showers. Edward’s walk was really more of a waddle at this point, the weight of the baby resting low between his hips in a way that made him arch his back severely just to keep upright. 

As predicted, James found his new gait extremely amusing. “Maybe we should start calling you Duck now.” The red engine teased his partner as he pushed open the door to the empty showers. 

Edward couldn’t help an amused smile at the ribbing as he turned on one of the showerheads and vanished his clothes. “We already have one Duck on the railway.”

“Yes, and I think that’s quite enough.” James picked up the shampoo and started rubbing it into Edward’s hair. Though the blue engine insisted he was capable of washing himself, there were few things James loved more than the opportunity to run his hands all over his partner’s body. “But you do have to admit, you have a really cute waddle.”

Rather than rise to the teasing, Edward just blushed a little bit. He had known that this would happen, that his ability to get around would be restricted as he got closer to his due date, but it was still an embarrassing reminder of how limited his mobility was becoming. 

James frowned when he didn’t get the response he expected. Humor was how he dealt with most things, and he wasn’t sure just what to do when it failed to cheer Edward up. Letting his hands slide down from the blue engine’s hair to his shoulders, James leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek. “What’s wrong? Still thinking about the accident?”

“A little.” A day wasn’t long enough for Edward to emotionally distance himself from the event, though he could think about it without crying now. “I injured those people very badly, and I did it so easily. My brakes worked fine, the rails were in good repair, nothing was wrong. I just. . . couldn’t do anything about it. And. The baby is going to be human too. What if I hurt them too?”

“You would never do that.” James said sternly. 

“I wouldn’t ever do it on purpose.” Edward’s hands cupped the heavy curve of his belly, “But people are so fragile. You and I, we’re multi-ton, steel locomotives. We can damage people so easily.”

James had to admit that he had a point. Accidents happened, and there was nothing they could do to prevent it. But that was not what his partner needed to hear right now. Instead, James looked at Edward with an uncommon seriousness and placed his hands over his partner’s. “That is not going to happen. That would never happen. I won’t let it. Our baby is going to be the best human ever, and they’re gonna grow up, and be awesome.”

Edward relaxed a little bit, leaning back to let the warm water wash the suds from his hair and body. James was right, and he was really worrying over what ifs that might never happen. 

“So.” James decided it was time to change the subject, moving his hands a little lower to stroke his partner’s more sensitive places. “Do you have any new name ideas?”

“N-name?” Edward’s mind suddenly had trouble concentrated on anything past the heat pooling low in his body at James’ touch. 

“For the baby.” James grinned as he stroked Edward’s thighs, “Isn’t that why you’ve been making me read all those awful books in Sudric?

“Right.” Edward felt his legs weakening. As much as he wanted James to continue, if this kept up he’d probably have a hard time holding himself up much longer. “Mm, James. I’m not going to be able to stand up if you keep going.”

James loved seeing his partner come undone, but knew that maybe the shower wasn’t the best place for it. Agreeably, he grabbed the soap and started rubbing his partner with touches intended more to clean than arouse. “Later then. So, you finally pick a name?”

“I have a few I was considering.” Edward had been making a list of words that appealed to him, before going through with James and crossing off any that one of them didn’t like. Though James had stated it was Edward’s choice, the red engine was actually surprisingly picky. “What do you think of Hawin?”

“Hawin?” James repeated. It was familiar, being a prefix in the names of several rivers on the island. He hadn’t considered it as a human name, but it wasn’t bad. “It’s okay. What does it mean?”

“It means River.” Edward had always liked the rivers and streams that crossed the railway, finding the sound and sight of the running water beneath bridges peaceful and soothing. Plus, he thought a name like Hawin was fairly gender neutral and would work for a boy, girl, or whatever he had. 

“Hawin,” James repeated again, considering the name. He knelt down until he was eye level with Edward’s protruding navel, placing hands on either side of his belly button. “So, what do you think? Is your name Hawin?” James addressed his partner’s belly seriously. Inside, the baby kicked against his palms, making James grin. 

Edward gave a muffled laugh as James pressed his lips to the blue engine’s skin and blew a raspberry. The baby rolled and squirmed, warm and safe and undeniably alive. With a satisfied smirk, James stood back up, “Hawin it is.” His plan had worked beautifully. Now, their baby had a name and Edward was no longer dwelling on his dark, negative thoughts. There was still two months to go, but James knew they’d be able to make it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The accident on the opening day of the L&MR, in which Stephenson's Rocket struck and fatally wounded William Huskisson, is of course a real incident. Figured it needed to be addressed sooner or later. 
> 
>  
> 
> . .. also, the final scene there in the shower has, in fact, been illustrated. You can find that on Tumblr here: http://tinyurl.com/jactdqw


	25. Chapter 25

Unsurprisingly, the Fat Controller was not happy about James abandoning all of his goods work. Several of the railway’s clients had called in, displeased with the delay in their deliveries, and Sir Topham had needed to pull several other engines off their regular work. 

Privately, Sir Topham thought he now understood why other railways had forbidden relationships amoungst their engines. He couldn’t really blame James for rushing to Edward’s side. Hearing that one’s pregnant partner had been involved in an accident was something that no one wanted to experience. Still, he couldn’t just let James leave trains sitting on the line without any kind of reprimand. 

The next morning at Tidmouth Sheds, after the other engines had been given their assignments, Sir Topham went to speak with James privately. 

“Now, James. There are several goods trains that did not get delivered yesterday.” The railway owner said sternly. “You will need to take them in addition to your normal work this morning.”

“But sir!” James had expected to be punished, but that didn’t mean he was happy about it. “Edward needed me yesterday.”

Sir Topham’s expression softened slightly. “Yes, he did. I’m not trying to keep you two apart. But you can’t simply leave things without telling anyone. I don’t like hearing there’s a train left on the line because one of my other engines has run head-first into it. That kind of thing only causes more accidents.”

James’ frown deepened. So, maybe he did feel a little guilty about that one. But when he’d heard that Edward had been involved in an accident, it was like he couldn’t think about or focus on anything else. All thought of railroad safety and rules and procedures was wiped from his mind as panic took over. “Yes, sir.” The red engine reluctantly bit out. 

“Now. How is Edward?” Sir Topham asked genuinely. 

The anger faded from James’ face, replaced by a little smile, and Sir Topham was reminded again why he had decided to allow his engines to become involved with one another. James had always been a rather volatile, unhappy engine. To see him in love and happy was such a change. “Edward is okay. He’s still asleep right now, but he’s not so upset anymore. We chose a name for the baby last night.”

“That’s great.” Sir Topham had hoped that it was just the shock that had gotten to Edward, and that all he needed was some time to calm down. “What name did you choose?”

“Hawin.” The more he thought about it, the more the name grew on James. It made the reality of the baby even more apparent, a reminder that his partner was growing an actual human. “It means river. Edward chose it.”

“It’s very nice.” Sir Topham knew his daughter would be glad to hear about the decision. She loved personalized baby things. “Now, you’ve got goods trains to pick up. Get all your leftover work delivered, and I might even let you off early today.”

James gave a happy little whistle at that, moving out of his berth. He’d pull dirty trucks willingly if it meant getting the rest of the day to spend with Edward. Just for today, of course. 

 

Edward woke up several hours after everyone else had already left for the day. He groaned and rubbed sleep from his eyes as he struggled into a sitting position, still feeling weirdly tired despite having slept for far longer than he ever had in his life. His stomach growled unhappily, alerting Edward to the fact that he was hungry once again. Lately, it seemed like he was constantly hungry.

“Alright, I’ll feed you.” Edward murmured, giving his belly a pat as he prepared to get up off the bed. Then, he noticed that some kind soul had left a bottle of water and a banana next to the bed. Probably James, acting under the suggestion of his driver. Edward smiled fondly and picked up the provided food. 

An hour later, though, Edward was feeling dreadfully bored. He had flicked through his pregnancy books, but had read them all to completion already. This was one of the reasons he hadn’t wanted to take time off work, because he honestly didn’t know how to spend his time without anything to do. It hadn’t been as bad when it was just one day a week, where he at least had a doctor’s appointment to attend.

Getting out of bed, Edward decided he could at least do some cleaning up of the small room. He neatened up the bed, straightened his stack of books, and in general tried to tidy the detritus that had accumulated over the course of the months he’d lived in the room. It was a task that normally wouldn’t have taken long at all, but Edward wasn’t moving as quickly as he used to. 

Bending over to collect something off the floor was a monumental effort, worse was when Edward found that he couldn’t get back up afterwards. He made another go at standing back up, but with the weight and size of the baby he couldn’t quite do it. Edward couldn’t help but huff a laugh as he sank down onto the floor, debating if he wanted to try and pull himself over to the bed to use it for leverage. 

“You are a little nuisance.” Edward addressed his belly fondly as he sat on the floor. He was about to make another attempt at getting up when there was a knock on the door and his driver stepped inside. 

“Lunchtime,” Charlie announced cheerfully, pleasant expression melting to shock when he spotted Edward on the floor. Quickly, he set down the lunchbox and thermos in his hands on the bed and knelt down. “Oh god, Edward, are you okay? What happened?”

“I’m fine, I swear.” Edward reassured quickly. “I was just tidying up. I bent over to pick up a candy wrapper and couldn’t manage to get back up again.” He held up the offending wrapper for emphasis. 

Charlie felt his panic fade when he realized Edward hadn’t fallen down and wasn’t injured or anything. He reached down and grasped the blue engine’s arms in a firm grip, then carefully pulled him back to his feet. “Why were you cleaning? You know you can get me and Sidney to do it, or James.”

“I needed something to do,” Edward said with a shrug, sitting down on the edge of the bed instead. “And this place just seemed. Dirty.”

Idly, Charlie wondered if Edward was “nesting” or just bored. He passed over the engine’s lunch and took a seat next to him while he ate. “Sorry for leaving you here alone all morning. I had a few things to get done. I know it can’t be fun sitting around here.”

Edward made a muffled sound of agreement as he bit into his lunch. “How much longer do I have again?”

“About eight weeks.” Charlie offered. Edward was due just before New Years. 

“Eight weeks,” Edward groaned. What was he going to do for eight weeks? “I know I’m not supposed to pull trains, but is there any work I could do?”

Charlie was going to give a blanket ‘no,’ but reconsidered when he saw just how miserable Edward was at the thought of not doing anything for the next two months. “I’ll ask the Fat Controller about it. But really, Edward, there’s nothing wrong with sitting and relaxing. We all just want to make sure that you and the baby are safe.”

“Hawin.” Edward interjected. “The baby, James and I named them Hawin. It means river.”

“That is a lovely name.” His driver complimented, glad to hear that the couple had come to a decision. “Now, are you ready to go out for a walk?”

“Oh yes, please.” Edward put aside part of his lunch for later and slowly stood, taking his shawl and draping it around his shoulders. 

Outside the shed, a cold fall rain was soaking everything in the yard. Edward simply conjured a bulky rainslicker to keep himself dry and took his driver’s arm as they made their way towards the grassy fields around the yards. He wasn’t going to let a little rain keep him from getting out and about. 

Even after his back started to hurt and his ankles throbbed their protest at supporting his weight, Edward didn’t want to go back in the shed. The rain wasn’t exactly conducive to sitting around outside, so Charlie led him to a small café that was often frequented by the Tidmouth railway crews. It was warm and dry, and the engine driver figured there was a good chance Edward would be up for food again considering his hungry little passenger. 

The waitress who met them greeted Charlie with a smile, he was a regular customer, and looked at Edward a little more suspiciously as the two took a seat. With his many layers, Edward came off as a rather overweight man to regular people who didn’t know about his condition, but that didn’t stop people from staring a bit. 

Edward carefully sank down into a chair and scooted closer to the table, though he had to stop when the edge of the table pressed against his belly. The blue engine frowned, he wasn’t as close as he’d like to be, and vanished his raincoat. 

“Whoa, watch it, Edward.” Charlie hissed, glancing around to see if anyone had noticed. Normal people’s clothes didn’t just disappear into thin air after all.

“Hmm?” Edward suddenly realized where they were, out in public around non-railway employees, and reddened. “Sorry, driver. I forgot.”

“It’s alright.” Charlie reached across the table and patted his hand. “I know you’ve been tired and distracted lately.”

“That’s one word for it.” Edward agreed. He sometimes felt like he was operating in a fog, thoughts drifting from his work if he didn’t concentrate hard enough. Add to that the constant seesaw from energetic to exhaustion, and sometimes he felt quite done with all this pregnancy business. 

Of course, as soon as he got fed up, the baby would move around and kick and Edward would be reminded just why he was doing this. That there was an impossibly small and helpless little person depending on him. 

James, of course, also did an admirable job of comforting his partner whenever Edward started to feel overwhelmed. The blue engine was forever grateful for the massages and, yes, even the teasing words of his partner. Edward had discovered a love for receiving belly rubs lately, and James was only too happy to provide. Though some of the other engines questioned just what Edward saw in James, the blue engine felt so lucky to have his partner. 

“Edward? You still with me?”

Edward was pulled abruptly from his thoughts by the voice of his driver, who had been talking to him. There he had gone again, focus drifting from the task at hand as soon as his concentration lapsed. “Oh, yes. Sorry, driver. What did you say?”

“I asked what you wanted to eat.” Charlie said with amusement. 

“Oh,” Edward glanced at the menu, but even after months of eating human food he still knew very little about the different kinds. “Whatever you think is best.”

“How about we get you some fish and chips and see how you feel afterwards?” Charlie called over the waitress and ordered some food and a glass of water for Edward, and a cup of tea for himself. 

“I’m just not sure where all this food is going.” Edward commented once he had his plate in front of him. Though he had already eaten lunch, his stomach still growled appreciatively at the smell of food. “Surely, babies don’t eat this much.”

“Well, you’re also feeding yourself. I’m pretty sure, at least.” Charlie still wasn’t entirely sure what exactly Edward’s body was doing though-out all this. He seemed to be in some kind of limbo between real and false human. “Actually, you know that student reasearcher kid? He’s been studying this whole “human form” business. I guess you can stay human longer without getting tired by eating food. And considering that you’ve been in your human form for over seven months. . .”

“I never thought about it that way. No wonder I’m always feeling so tired.” And no wonder he was always hungry. Yet, no matter how much he wanted to finish off the entire plate of food, he just didn’t have the space for it anymore. Reluctantly, Edward had to push away the tray after only eating about half of it. 

“We’ll get a box and you can finish it later.” Charlie reassured. “Are you ready to go back to the shed, or would you like to keep wandering around?”

“I would like to stay out here. If that is alright.” Eating food had renewed Edward’s energy, and he didn’t want to go back to Tidmouth Sheds yet. 

“Well, then. How about we walk down the street and get you some ice cream.” 

Now that was something that Edward very much liked the sound of. He didn’t know if the baby liked ice cream, but he sure did!

 

A while later, when Edward finally admitted to being tired and returned to the shed to have a nap, Charlie found himself in the engine drivers breakroom at Tidmouth. The small room was a safe haven for the engine drivers, a place to relax away from the engines for a little while. Even the drivers that loved their engines like a good friend, like Charlie did, sometimes needed a little time around other humans. 

That particular afternoon, his company ended up being Sam and Dennis. Both were fine men, well experienced in the railway, and listened with friendly ears as Charlie talked about recent events. 

“I feel bad about making Edward stay in the shed all day, but what else is there to do?” Charlie sighed over his bottle of beer, having decided he deserved something a little harder than tea. “After that accident, I’m scared he’s going to get hurt. But I know that he hates being in the shed without anything to do. I can’t exactly take him home with me.”

“Is there any work he can do?” Dennis questioned. “Like yard shunting or something? That’s not very dangerous. And the yards here aren’t very far from the shed.”

“That. . . actually isn’t a bad idea.” It was also what Timothy was doing, shunting in the marshalling yards. It was slow work, and could be busy. But if Edward was just assisting the usual station pilot, then there would be plenty of time to rest. “I’ll pitch it to the Fat Controller. Still, it would be nice if there was other stuff he could do. I can’t even take him out around humans too much, people are starting to stare.”

“That reminds me,” Sam smacked his fist into his palm as he remembered a conversation he’d had with Edward a few weeks before. “I was going to ask you about letting Edward go to the Cuff again. You know they like going to the pub, and it would let him get out more.”

Charlie looked at the other driver incredulously. “Edward can still pass off as being a fat guy to people who don’t know any better. But you can’t tell me that the people at the bar, who have met him before, wouldn’t notice the weight he’s gained and not ask questions.”

“So we tell them he’s pregnant.” Sam shrugged. He knew they were trying to keep this relatively private, but he didn’t think the solution to that was to shut Edward away in the shed and not let him interact with people. “He has friends at the pub, they’ll be happy for him.”

“I know that a gay bar is more accepting than most places. But men don’t get pregnant!” Charlie couldn’t quite believe he was having this discussion. “People will talk.”

“Ten years ago, being gay was illegal. The police regularly raided the pub. If there’s any group that can be discreet, it’s this lot. What happens in the Cuff, stays there.” Sam had been going there for longer than he’d been an engine driver, and knew every single person who frequented the bar. It wasn’t a large or popular bar, tucked away as it was on the edge of the railroad yards, and was patronized by a steady group of reliable regulars. “And besides. There are men who can get pregnant.”

Dennis, who had been watching the conversation with detached interest, suddenly looked sharply at Sam. Charlie, meanwhile, just looked confused. 

“Dennis?” Sam nodded at the other driver, hoping he could get a helping hand here. 

The youngest of the three sighed. “You owe me for this, Sam.” Dennis turned in his seat to address Charlie. “I don’t tell very many people about this. But, I have two kids. And I could get pregnant again if I wanted to.”

Charlie gaped openly at the other man, feeling suddenly lost. True, he hadn’t known Dennis for very long, the man was one of few engine drivers who was not a native Sudrian but had only moved to the island a few years ago, however Charlie had never thought anything odd about him. 

“My name wasn’t always Dennis. It used to be, ugh, Shannon.” Dennis winced a little just saying it. “I’ve had surgery to make my chest flat, and take hormones to grow a beard. But I’ve still got all the, you know, relevant bits. So, uh, now you know. Edward isn’t the first pregnant man around.”

Mind still reeling, Charlie had trouble thinking of anything to say. It was still hard to believe that the man in front of him had once been someone else. Finally, Charlie’s mind settled on something, “What happened to your kids?” As far as he knew, Dennis was single and lived alone, though after that little revelation he was realizing how little he actually did know about the other man. 

Dennis looked at Charlie sadly. “When I told my husband at the time ‘surprise, I’m actually a guy!’ he, well, took the kids and left. I got divorce papers in the mail not long after. I haven’t seen either of them in years.”

“I’m sorry.” Charlie reached over and put a hand on the other man’s shoulder. He couldn’t imagine having his kids taken from him like that. “Really.”

“It’s okay.” Yes, it still hurt to think about, but enough years had passed that Dennis didn’t feel that heart wrenching pain anymore. “Sometimes, we have to give up things to become the people we were meant to be. It hurts, but I am still happier being Dennis than I ever was before.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, transgender issues are important to me. And, considering this is an mpreg fic, is something that should be addressed. The engines aren't great when it comes to transgender narrative, but that's what human characters are for. 
> 
>  
> 
> Also, I hope I'm not taking Edward out of character with this. But between his history of being shut in the shed, and the idea of sitting around for 2 months with nothing to do when one is used to spending all day hard at work, I know I'd be going crazy for a task or job.


	26. Chapter 26

Late fall meant things slowing down at Brendam Docks. The harvest season was over, so there were fewer goods to be taken away by ship, but the Christmas rush hadn’t yet really had a chance to kick in yet. 

Timothy yawned as he shunted a line of trucks slowly across the yard, collecting them together for Gator to come and take. The oil-burning engine was incredibly tired, but sleep was very hard to come by at night. It seemed like the baby wanted to start acting up the second he laid down in bed. 

Being this tired was comparable to the feeling of having stayed in his human form too long, a pull that constantly tried to tug him back towards his real body while exhaustion settled over his form like a heavy blanket. It didn’t cease when Timothy was in his engine body, though, because the baby was stubbornly anchoring his human form in reality. 

As the trucks he was pushing bumped into the buffers of the siding, Timothy backed away from the train and abruptly began to cry. It wasn’t a noisy kind of cry, he was nearly silent as tears rolled down his cheeks, but he still slowed to a halt as the weight of everything on his mind suddenly seemed to all crash down at once. 

“Oh dear.” In the cab, his driver Raman shook his head and climbed down. So far, Timothy hadn’t seemed very prone to the mood swings that pregnancy brought, beyond getting irritated far more easily, but it was clear that the engine was reaching a breaking point. Walking around to Timothy’s front, Raman looked at the engine kindly. “Are you alright, Timothy? Do you want to tell me what is wrong?”

“I’m just. . . tired.” Timothy managed. “I’m ready to be done with this.”

“It’s alright.” His driver soothed. “I know it’s hard. You’ve done very well so far, there’s only a few weeks left. Come on, how about we take a break.”

After a moment of consideration, Timothy left his engine form for his human one instead, which was still laying in bed back on the S.S. Roxstar. He wasn’t going to be much use at the docks if he couldn’t compose himself. 

Raman made his way towards the Roxstar, stopping in at the ocean liner’s restaurant to pick up some nice, warm tea. It would probably do a slightly better job than water at making Timothy feel better. 

In his small room, Timothy was sitting up on the berth with his back against the bulkhead. Though the engine was perfectly still, his belly shook and moved with the eager thrashing of the baby inside. Groaning, Timothy lifted his shirt and rubbed at his abused skin. He didn’t know if this was normal for humans, but it was certainly irritating. What had he done to deserve being pummeled from the inside?

“He is very active.” Raman observed, entering the room and sitting on the berth next to his engine. “Here, try some tea. It will help.”

“At this point, I’ll try anything.” Timothy took the warm drink, giving it a tentative taste before taking a long sip. The heat from the tea seemed to travel downwards through his body and spread out, curling around the inside his belly with tendrils of warmth, and Timothy gave a happy little hum. No wonder so many people in this country loved the drink so much. 

Quickly, half the tea was gone and Timothy felt his eyes drooping. Thankfully, the warmth seemed to be getting to the baby too because his movements were becoming slower and softer. Finally, Timothy felt like the little one might have settled enough for him to get some sleep. 

Finishing the drink, Timothy handed the empty cup back to his driver and shifted to lie down on the berth. His eyelids dragged closed, and soon his deep breathing indicated that he had fallen asleep. 

Smiling fondly, Raman stood and pulled one of the blankets on the berth over the sleeping engine. As he did, he bent down and very softly rested a hand on Timothy’s round abdomen. “You be good for your papa. He needs his sleep.” The driver whispered. The man still felt very privileged that Timothy was allowing him to be there during this trying time, and even more honored that the engine would be giving his baby to his driver to raise. 

Quietly, Raman left the room. Just outside in the hallway he encountered Porter, who looked worried and maybe a bit frantic. Porter had seen his partner start crying, but had been busy with a job and hadn’t been able to get away immediately. 

“How is he?” Porter asked the driver, worried that something was wrong. 

“He is fine. He just fell asleep.” Raman reassured, keeping his voice down. “May I suggest picking up tea before bed, when he has trouble getting to sleep?”

“I’ll make sure I get some.” Porter said solemnly. “Thank you.” 

As Raman left, Porter slipped inside the small room and couldn’t help the feeling of affection that filled him when he saw Timothy asleep on the berth. He knew the oil-burning engine was having trouble sleeping lately. He always rested better when Porter was there with him, but Porter could only use his human form for so long and always vanished before the night was through. 

Decided that he could due to take an hour break, Porter gently settled himself in next to his partner. It was a sign of just how tired Timothy was that he didn’t even stir as Porter slipped under the covers and positioned himself between his partner and the bulkhead. The dockside engine wrapped his arms around his partner’s distended middle, enjoying the warmth that always radiated from there, and let his attention drift. Porter couldn’t actually fall asleep, that would only force him back to his engine form, but there was plenty to think about snuggled up with his pregnant partner. Like wondering just how mad Cranky would be about him taking an hour break in the middle of the day. 

 

A little while later, BoCo arrived at the docks with the daily passenger train and stopped at the Roxstar. The diesel was surprised to see that of the three engines working at the docks, two were “blank.” Only Salty was able to greet BoCo with a pleasant “Ahoy!” as he shunted some trucks on the other side of the yard. 

“Hello, Salty.” BoCo watched with some confusion as Porter’s empty shell chuffed past, being driven by the human crew inside. “What happened to Porter and Timothy?”

“Oh, having a snooze I think.” Salty wasn’t the type to get angry, and didn’t mind being left to do all the work at the docks himself for a little bit. At least things were slow. “Timothy’s been having a hard time of it lately, the poor lad.”

“Oh dear.” BoCo sympathized. “Well, I hope he’s alright. Don’t you work him too hard, Salty.”

“Don’t you worry about that.” Salty chuckled. “Might have to press-gang you into shunting instead though, BoCo.”

“Perish the thought.” BoCo only laughed, knowing the other diesel was just joking. With a toot of his horn, BoCo pulled out of the docks. 

On the platform, Archie Binns had been listening to the conversation of the two engines and was a bit disappointed. He had come in BoCo’s train to hopefully talk to Salty, but it seemed like that would be a little more difficult than he had anticipated. The dockside diesel was one of the few that Archie hadn’t had a chance to talk with because Salty just always seemed to be busy. And no wonder, if the engine that normally helped him was caught up dealing with his pregnant partner. 

Deciding to just settle down and wait, Archie watched the bustling activity at the docks. Eventually, Porter returned and Archie was able to talk to Salty privately. It was a conversation that took a while, the dockside diesel loved to tell stories and spin yarns about the sea, but Archie was eventually able to steer Salty towards the topic of his early memories. Here, the diesel’s words faltered. He confessed confusing recollections, memories of standing on a dock in the pouring rain. Watching a cargo ship come inescapably closer and closer to shore, aimed straight for the dock with nothing to stop it. 

Archie asked Salty what happened after that, and the diesel had to admit he didn’t know. Another mystery to add to the roster of strange occurrences that Archie was uncovering. 

 

The student researcher wasn’t the only one who was noticing the mismatched, fragmented memories some of the engines had. It was quickly becoming the talk of all the engine crews, discussed in the safety of the break-rooms where the engines could not overhear. 

“Anybody else think all this memory business is a bit suspicious?” Sam brought up the subject to the other Tidmouth drivers one afternoon in the breakroom. “I’ve heard some weird stuff from some of the other drivers.”

“Michael told me he thinks the railway staff performed arcane black magic rituals and sacrificed humans to put their spirits into the rolling stock.” Ted commented, naming the driver of Georgette who had more than a few ‘out-there’ ideas.

Charlie snorted. “Who the hell would put that much time and effort into bringing rolling stock to life? Sacrificing people, really.”

“Well then, where do you think the engine’s life comes from?” Sam countered. He didn’t really think that locomotive builders were killing people in large numbers, but he had been hearing some strange stories lately. 

“Well. . .” Charlie paused. He had never really questioned –why- living machines were alive. They just were. 

“What if they really did used to be humans?” Ted whispered softly, voicing the fear they all had. 

 

The thought continued to haunt Charlie as he returned to Tidmouth Sheds. What if the engines had been people? Just like him, just like his daughter and his son. Now, trapped in the bodies of huge mechanical engines, living at the whims of their human owners. The driver couldn’t imagine. 

In the back room at Tidmouth, Edward was relaxing in bed. He had, mercifully, been allowed to do some shunting in the Tidmouth yards to keep himself busy, but had decided to call it a day a little early so that he could take a nap. His fireman had left him a small radio, which was sitting on a shelf nearby tuned to a local classical music station. 

After sleeping for a few hours, Edward was awake but disinclined to move until James returned. Instead, he had a book resting open in his lap and was humming along softly with the music, one hand rubbing at a spot low on his belly where he could feel the weight of little Hawin resting. 

When the door to the room opened, Edward looked up eagerly in the hope that maybe it was James. Instead, the blue engine was surprised to see his driver. “Oh, hello Driver.”

“Hello, Edward.” Charlie took a seat on the bed, looking at the engine solemnly. He had to admit, Edward certainly didn’t look miserable right then. But he also knew that the engine hadn’t had an easy life, had suffered due to the decisions of the humans that owned him. 

Edward closed up his book and looked at his driver with some concern. “Is something wrong?”

Of course Edward would be able to tell something was wrong. “Edward. What if-“ Charlie hesitated, trying to word what he wanted to say. “What would you think if you engines were once human?”

“I- I don’t understand?” Edward was confused by the question. “What do you mean?”

“Well. Like, what if. Just conjecture. You were a human, but you died, and now you were an engine.” Charlie didn’t want to distress his engine, but wanted reassurance that Edward wasn’t miserable due to his life. 

“Oh.” Edward had to think about that for a few moments. The subject of the source of their life was not something most living machines thought about. “I guess I’d be happy.”

“Happy?” Charlie wasn’t expecting that answer. 

“Of course. I’d be happy to have another chance.” Edward thought it was simple. “I have a branch line, a lovely partner, and so many good friends. Why wouldn’t I be happy to be an engine?”

Charlie had never thought of it from that perspective before. He couldn’t fathom being anything other than human, but really if he was honest being a human wasn’t exactly all sunshine and roses either. Smiling, Charlie patted Edward’s thigh and stood. “Thanks Edward.”

“Of course, Driver.” Edward responded, though he really had no idea what he was being thanked for. 

Still deep in thought, Charlie left to head home for the evening. Not long afterwards, James returned to the shed and immediately went to see his partner. 

“So how was your day?” James asked, settling down on the bed and immediately setting about wrapping around Edward as well as he could. The red engine wasn’t fond of the fact that Edward was still working, even though shunting was a relatively low-stress, boring duty, and worried about his partner any time he was out of sight. 

“It was fine.” Edward reassured. The trucks had been fairly subdued and not caused him any trouble all afternoon. “Driver was just in here asking some strange questions though. He thought that maybe all of us engines were once human and had died to become engines.”

“What?” James looked at Edward with an amused expression. “Why did he think that?”

“I’m not sure.” Edward admitted. “Maybe it’s because of all those interview questions we’ve been asked. I’ve heard some engines have strange memories of things they don’t think actually happened.”

“Well good for them.” James said a touch bitterly. Though he had been honest about not wanting his lost memories back, he was maybe still a little jealous that some engines could remember their full lives. The red engine shifted around until he could lay his head in his partner’s (admittedly rather crowded) lap.

“What if they’re right?” Edward moved from stroking his belly to run his fingers through James’ short hair instead. “What if we used to be humans?”

“Then I’m certainly glad we aren’t anymore.” James said with a hint of disgust. “Being human is awful.”

“Really?” Edward said with amusement. “And is everything about being human terrible? Even when it results in this?” He patted his very ripe abdomen, the obvious indicator of what they had done together while human.

“Well, okay. Maybe not –everything- about being human is awful.” James conceded. He turned his head to nuzzle his partner’s navel. “Just most of it.”

Edward laughed, the sound vibrating his body and making his belly jiggle. This must have woken little Hawin, who began to kick and managed to bonk James right on the nose. The red engine pulled back with a snort, rubbing his nose, and Edward only laughed harder. He couldn’t imagine having a better life.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter but surprisingly hard for me to get out.

The official start of winter came as it usually did on Sodor, with the first real snow of the season. It wasn’t much, just a light dusting, and certainly not enough to interrupt train service. The rails were made slippery, though, so everyone had to go a bit more carefully and mind their speed. 

For once, James wasn’t bitching about the weather ruining his paint or how underappreciated he felt without the sun to attract tourists to his shining bright work. Instead, the red engine’s attention was purely with his partner. James didn’t like that Edward was continuing to work with the weather getting colder and wetter. 

Edward insisted that yard shunting was not particularly dangerous, and that he wasn’t even being worked that hard because Percy was quite determined to take care of as much of the shunting as possible. The little green tank engine was running himself ragged, though Edward kept saying that a little bit of work wouldn’t hurt him any. 

No one could deny, though, that Edward was happier and had more energy when he was allowed to be outside and around other engines. He was tired and sore, yes, but the solution to that wasn’t to sequester himself away in his room. Instead, Edward would rather be able to see and talk with his friends. 

While Edward was just doing a bare minimum of work each day, James was still working at all his usual duties. It was obvious to everyone, however, that the red engine was tiring out. After a few weeks, Sir Topham called in his driver to have a chat. The railway owner already had two engines down, with Edward unable to pull trains and one of the Knapford shunters up taking Timothy’s place at the Clay Pits. He really didn’t need to lose a third. 

Rick, James’ driver, wasn’t too sure that the Fat Controller would get his wish, though. The man stood in front of his boss’ desk, hat respectfully removed, and hoped the railway owner wouldn’t be too hard on his engine. 

“Now, I’ve noticed James has been unusually tired lately.” Sir Topham commented, gesturing for Rick to have a seat. “Do you know why that is? I’ve had complaints about him from passengers, and he’s usually quite reliable at pulling coaches.”

“Well, he hasn’t been sleeping much at night, sir.” Rick sank down into the stiff chair in front of the desk. Though James never shared much in the way of personal things with his driver, Rick had certainly noticed his engine’s waning energy and had gone to speak with Charlie, and even Edward about it. 

“Hasn’t been sleeping?” Though that was the most obvious answer, Sir Topham was surprised to hear it. “Why on earth not?”

“It’s Edward, sir. He has trouble sleeping.” This no one was surprised about, it wasn’t easy sleeping at night so far along in a pregnancy and was why Edward wasn’t expected to do much in the way of work. “But, he sleeps better when James is with him. And if James is in his human form-“

“He can’t sleep.” Sir Topham finished with a sigh. Once again, it was something he couldn’t really punish James for. The red engine was just being a considerate, caring partner, even though it impacted his work. Rubbing his temple, Sir Topham tried to think of the best way to resolve this. At least it was only for another month. “I’ll see about getting another engine to cover James’ early runs. Hopefully, that will give him more time to sleep.”

“Thank you, sir.” Rick was relieved to know that James wasn’t in trouble, and politely nodded to his boss before heading out the door for the afternoon runs. 

The Fat Controller, meanwhile, groaned and looked over his rosters to see who could take over James’ early morning work. He should probably send another shunter to the docks, too, come to think of it. No doubt Porter was having similar trouble. 

 

A little while later, there was a knock on the office door and Archie Binns entered. It was the time of the week when the student researcher usually made his reports to Sir Topham about how his research was going. Today, though, Archie looked a little more grim than usual. 

“Is something the matter?” Sir Topham asked as the young man stepped up to the desk, a manila folder clutched in his hands. 

“I, uh. May have found out something. Something pretty big.” Archie opened up the folder and set down several photographs on the desk. One photo was clearly of Salty in his human form, paired with a newspaper clipping that showed someone with nearly identical facial features to the diesel, if a very different body type. 

Another photo was of Georgette, pinned to picture of a human woman who again had the exact same facial features as the electric engine but otherwise looked very little like her. 

“I’m not sure I understand.” Sir Topham set the photos down after examining them with some confusion. “So there are humans that look uncannily like some of our engines?”

“The newspaper clippings are from obituaries, sir.” Archie had called in a friend back on the mainland to scour old newspapers, and had so far managed to track down these two photos. He had no doubt there were more. “Georgette described to me early memories of being in a fire, with machinery and women screaming. This woman here, Sarah, died in an American factory fire in around the same time Georgette was manufactured.

“Salty told me he remembered a ship crashing into the docks. This man here was a dockworker killed when a cargo ship rammed the dock he was working at. Again, this happened around the same time Salty was built.”

Sir Topham felt a chill run down his body. “Are you saying that you believe the engines were once humans that died in accidents? These could just be coincidences.”

“I’m not so sure. I’ve had several other engines tell me about similar memories, though not specific enough to easily search newspaper archives for the actual incident.” Archie was somewhat unsettled by what he had uncovered, but could not deny that it was very interesting. “I do have a friend looking through old obituaries and reports for me, though. I think I have enough evidence to say that it’s fairly likely that yes. The engines were once humans.”

Sitting back heavily in his chair, Sir Topham absorbed this information. “Do the engines know about this? Do they- do they remember being human?”

“No, they don’t remember anything beyond flashes of memory and disjointed feelings.” That Archie was confident of. “I don’t think it’s wise to view them as the humans they once were. As far as I can tell, most of their personalities and life experiences are affected by how they’ve lived as engines.”

Sir Topham rubbed his hands over his face. This was not the news he wanted to hear. Though the Northwestern, and other railway owners on Sodor, did their best to respect the engines and treat them fairly, Sir Topham still thought of them all like children. Machines, who didn’t quite have the same emotional capabilities or maturity that people did. “What should I do? What can I do for them?”

“Do for them? Every engine I’ve interviewed says that they’re quite satisfied with their life.” Beyond the usual gripes and complaints that anyone had about daily life, Archie had actually been a little surprised that none of the engines was truly dissatisfied with the way things were run on Sodor. “I’m not sure anything needs to change due to this information. But, I thought it was important to share my findings with you. I hope to continue along this line of research, I’m interested in what people are predisposed to be, well, reincarnated as living machines. And why we’ve seen a decline in living machines in the last few decades.”

“Yes, of course.” The railway owner was reassured to know that his engines were happy, at least. Further research might bring more unpleasant information, but Sir Topham felt it was important to know. 

As Archie left, Sir Topham started drafting up a notice for his drivers and fireman across the railway. He knew full well that rumors had been circulating amoungst the crews, and felt it time to put them to rest. Even if the men might not like what they heard. 

 

Meetings that gathered together the footplate crews of the railway without their engines in attendance were not common on the Northwestern. Usually, engines were kept in the loop as much as their crews were. Charlie and Sidney exchanged concerned glances as they entered the crowded breakroom at Knapford, where Sir Topham had promised to share with them some of the results of the research that had been going on for the last few months. 

The news that the engines of the railway had once been human, like any of them, was not entirely a surprise to the men. They had already suspected as much, though the stories of the men got darker and darker with each retelling. Sir Topham reassured that there were no rituals involved, no murders or purposeful killing to create living machines. That this, for some reason, happened naturally for reasons that they did not know. 

Crews left the meeting somewhat uneasy and still dissatisfied, now looking at their engines in a new light.

“What do you think Edward was like as a person?” Sidney couldn’t help but ask Charlie as they walked out. “Do you think he had a wife? Or kids?”

“I can’t imagine Edward being anything but old and kind.” Charlie admitted. Trying to think of Edward as a young man, married to a woman, or as a teen, or a child, just didn’t jive. “He’s just. Edward, you know? I can’t think about him any other way.”

“Yeah.” Sidney agreed thoughtfully. “Do you think there’s something wrong with how we treat them? The engines, I mean.”

“Treat them? Sidney, Edward is our friend. And you know as well as I do none of the other drivers would mistreat their engine.” Still, Charlie felt a little bad about the way they sometimes ordered the engines about. Even though he knew it was necessary with the stubborn likes of Gordon and James. 

 

Any thought of their engine being unhappy was banished from both men’s minds when they arrived at Tidmouth sheds to check on Edward before going home. 

It appeared that the first snow of the season had gotten to everyone, because in the yard outside of the shed all of the engines were engaged in a spirited snowball fight. Gordon, Henry, and James appeared to be doing battle against Thomas, Percy and Emily, though it was hard to tell because they would often break ranks to pelt each other instead. Edward, meanwhile, was seated off to one side of the battlefield in a chair, bundled up securely in a heavy blanket and laughing as he supplied snowballs to James. 

Charlie couldn’t help but snicker when he saw Henry break off from helping Gordon try and take out Thomas and Percy to smash a huge snowball over his partner’s head instead. In retaliation, Gordon tossed the green engine into a plough-drift before jumping down after him with a fierce hug attack. 

“Evening, Edward.” Sidney and Charlie carefully edged their way around the fight to their engine. “Having fun? Not gotten hit, have you?”

“Oh, hello Fireman. Driver.” Edward was a little breathless and flushed from laughing and from the cold. “Yes,its quite fun. And no need to worry about my getting hit, James threatened everyone with cut brake lines if they came anywhere near me. Though, Thomas and Percy have complained that having a supply line is cheating.” The blue engine leaned over with a grunt and gathered up another handful of snow.

“Well, those two cheat often enough they can just deal with it.” Charlie looked up and suddenly had to duck to avoid a stray snowball. “Whoa, they’re getting a little close.”

Another snowball went wide, smacking Edward right in the chest. Immediately, everyone else in the yard froze. Percy, the source of the projectile, gasped and looked as though he might like to sink into the ground. “Oh gosh, Edward. I’m sorry!”

“Percy!” James gave a cry of rage before running at the smaller tank engine, who eeped with fear and took off across the yard. 

“You okay, Edward?” Sidney checked in with the old engine while Charlie went off to try and intervene before James killed Percy. 

“Yes, I’m fine.” Edward brushed the snow from his chest. It certainly hadn’t hurt, just being a little ball of snow, though he was glad it hadn’t hit a little lower. The baby probably wouldn’t appreciate being on the losing side of a snowball fight before they were even born. “I’m a little worried about Percy, though.”

“Hmm, yes.” Sidney watched as the little green tank engine managed to stay a few steps ahead of James, who had worked himself into a frothing rage as they dashed around the snowy yard. “Still got a couple snowballs?”

“Yes?” Edward passed a pair of snowballs to his fireman. 

Sidney very carefully took aim, tongue poking from his teeth as he squinted at the quickly moving engines on the other side of the yard, before firing. The snowball flew true, hitting Percy right in the back of the head and causing the tank engine to trip and fall to the ground. James made a triumphant sound, about to make a grab for Percy, before Sidney loosed the second snowball and whacked the red engine as well. Charlie was finally able to catch them both and give them a talking to as he hauled them back to their feet. 

“Very impressive.” Edward commented, looking at his fireman with surprise.

“School cricket team.” Sidney responded smugly, proud to see he still had it after all these years. 

 

After rousing round of snowball war, it seemed the fight had been taken out of the engines once Edward had become an unintentional casualty. Thomas gathered up his sheepish partner and marched the green tank engine back to the sheds, while Gordon and Henry had disappeared off somewhere unnoticed. Emily was still laughing as she vanished back to her engine body, and James, thankfully, seemed to have cooled down a little as he came back to Edward. 

“Really James,” Edward rolled his eyes fondly as his partner fussed over him. “I’m fine, and so is Hawin. A little snow won’t hurt either of us.”

“That little green caterpillar will get his, just you wait.” James promised as he tugged Edward to his feet. “Come on; let’s get you back to the shed.”

“I don’t want you and Percy getting into some kind of feud over this.” Trouble in the shed was the last thing Edward wanted, especially some kind of fight over him. “You can make it up to me by reading the new book Thomas’ driver bought for me.”

“Well. . . I guess I can do that.” A little smirk formed on James’ face as he slowly walked with partner towards the roundhouse, one hand on Edward’s back and the other on the prominent curve of the blue engine’s belly. “If it will make you feel better.”

“It will.” Edward leaned over a bit to give his partner a kiss on the cheek. It turned out that managing James was pretty easy if one only knew the right way to do it. 

 

Charlie shook his head fondly as he watched the two engines leave before turning to look at Sidney. “So, still believe that the engines are miserable with their lives?”

“Well, certainly none of them look unhappy.” Sidney responded with a laugh. “Except maybe Percy if James manages to get a hold of him. They’re all a little like children sometimes.”

“They may have been human once, but they aren’t anymore.” Charlie commented thoughtfully. “I don’t think we can hold them up to human standards.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Sidney turned and started walking towards his car. “Do you think we should tell them, though?”

“No, I don’t think so. Unless they ask, or figure it out themselves.” Charlie was having a hard enough time wrapping his head around all this; he didn’t think the engines needed to worry about it as well. The last thing they needed was a locomotive with an existential crisis. Still, as the engine driver climbed into his car and headed for home, he knew he would never see the many living machines he encountered every day quite the same way again.


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since the last chapter was so short, here. Have 4k of pure fluff.

Christmas time on Sodor was always a reason for excitement. The cities were festooned with lights and decorations, and cheery Christmas trees were erected in the town squares. Passenger runs increased as people visited their relatives for the season, and tourists came to Sodor to experience the ‘quaint, old-world charm’ of the holidays on the island. 

Edward was a little disappointed to be stuck in the yards for the season, though he knew there was no way he would be allowed out to pull trains now. Not that he particularly wanted to anyway, only a few weeks from his due date and Edward was so tired constantly that he only had the energy for a few hours of work. 

Though the Tidmouth marshalling yard had only received the barest decorations, Tidmouth Sheds had been fully covered with strings of Christmas lights and evergreen garlands. Edward smiled to see the colorful decorations as he was spun on the turntable and backed into a stall for the evening. He did later confess to James, though, that he wished he could see the decorations in the towns. 

The positive thing about working in the Tidmouth shunting yards, at least, was the chance to see and talk with all his friends. Even the ones that he didn’t get to see often when he was busy with his branch line. 

Edward was resting on a siding and eating lunch one afternoon when there was a familiar whistle and Duck rolled into the yard. The green engine smiled to see his friend, he didn’t often get to stop and see Edward since their branch lines were so far away from each other. In fact, he hadn’t really seen Edward since the blue engine had helped out with the Arlesburgh Wooden Boats festival. 

Deciding he had a little time before he needed to return to Arlesburgh, Duck moved over to his human form to go and say hello. He trotted over, though his eagerness was tempered slightly when he actually got a good look at his friend. “Good afternoon, Edward, how are you- oh. Oh my.” Though Duck knew, in his mind, that pregnancy caused a body to change, he hadn’t expected to see just how much Edward had grown in only a few months. 

“Good afternoon, Duck.” Edward responded, a bit confused as to why the tank engine looked so shocked. “Is something wrong?”

“No, it’s alright. Sorry,” Duck tried to gather his thoughts. “It’s just that you’ve gotten very fat.” The green tank engine immediately cringed and put a hand to his mouth. That wasn’t a kind thing to say. “I’m sorry, I mean-“

“It’s okay.” Edward laughed and waved off his friend’s concern. He was only too aware of how ‘fat’ he was. “I’m still surprised at how big I am sometimes.”

“How much longer do you have?” Duck was still a little red from his slip-up, but at least satisfied that Edward wasn’t offended by it.

“Oh, only a few weeks. This little one is supposed to come out just after Christmas.” Edward patted his belly. He was unbearably excited for when that moment finally came, even though he was also incredibly nervous. But Edward just wanted to meet the little life he and James had created, actually see them in person as opposed to a blurry picture on a screen. “That’s what the doctor says, anyway. I guess they could actually decide to come any time between then and now.”

“Wait, you mean. The baby could just come out any time now?” Duck stared down at his friend’s middle with some apprehension. “And you’re out here in the yards?”

“The baby isn’t going to come right now.” Edward said with an amused grin. “From what I’ve read, I’ll have plenty of warning.”

Duck didn’t look so sure, but figured Edward knew best in this situation. For once, though, the green tank engine didn’t think that working hard was the answer. 

 

A few days later, Edward was excited to have another friend visit him at the yards. BoCo had a goods train that brought him all the way to Tidmouth about once a week, and he always took time to sit and talk with Edward. 

“Hello, BoCo. How is the branch line?” Edward finished shunting a line of trucks onto a siding and decided it was time for a little break. He backed away from the trucks and settled down near a bench he favored with a sigh. His human form was there waiting for him, bundled up in a pile of blankets.

“It’s doing very well.” BoCo said with a smile, leaving his trucks near Edward’s and moving to his human form to join his friend. “Very busy, even, with all the Christmas goods coming by ship. I’m glad to have Gator to help with the goods. The Fat Controller’s put James on some of the passenger duties too. But I’ll be glad to have you back.”

“I can’t wait to get back too. But that’s not up to me.” Edward shifted under his layers of fabric, struggling a little to free himself from the tangle of blankets that his crew insisted he wrap himself in whenever he stayed outside too long. 

“Do you need a hand, there?” BoCo couldn’t help but laugh a little at his friend’s predicament and reached over to help pull back the blankets. “You look very warm, at least.”

“My crew is afraid I’ll catch a chill sitting outside.” Edward explained. He didn’t get cold, or warm, but the baby was a human that was more susceptible to the cold temperatures so he didn’t protest his crew’s mother-henning. 

“I’ll confess I was thinking about it, too.” BoCo valued the older engine as a very good friend, and sometimes worried about him working here in the yards while in his condition. “In fact, I got something for you. That is, if you want it.”

“You. . . got something for me?” Edward still wasn’t used to people just picking up things for him, especially other engines. 

“I thought you might like it. Just a minute.” BoCo dashed back over to his engine self, climbed up into the cab to fetch something before returning to Edward. “I saw these in a store window at Suddery and asked my driver if he would buy them. I know a lot of humans wear these this time of year.”

Edward accepted the gift, which turned out to be a scarf and knitted cap. Both were the same shade of blue, and the hat had little ear flaps with tassels of bright red yarn that dangled from the ends. He tugged the hat down over his head and draped the scarf over his shoulders, turning to BoCo with a smile. “I love them, thank you BoCo.”

“It’s nothing.” BoCo ducked his head a little in embarrassment. He just liked to see his friends happy, and had thought Edward might appreciate a little something to help keep him warm in the cold winter weather. 

“I still appreciate it.” There was an insistent kick from Edward’s belly, which made the blue engine laugh and press a hand to his side. “And I guess Hawin does too.”

“Really?” 

“They’re very excited.” Edward took BoCo’s hand and pressed it against his belly, right where he could feel the baby kicking. “See?”

“Oh wow.” BoCo was amazed at the strength behind the kicks. “Does it hurt any?” He asked with some concern. 

“No, no. It doesn’t hurt.” Edward grunted a bit at an especially strong hit to the ribs. “Well, maybe a little sometimes. But it’s a good thing; it means Hawin is strong and healthy.”

BoCo smiled. “I guess that is a good thing.” He moved his hand, rubbing at Edward’s belly a bit just to feel the baby respond. 

The peaceful moment was interrupted by a loud whistle as James pulled into the yard and screeched to a halt. “Edward! I picked you up some of that candy you like and then I thought that later we could-“ He cut himself off abruptly when he saw his partner snuggled up to BoCo and looked at the diesel suspiciously. 

BoCo gave an awkward cough and pulled his hand away, standing up and taking a few steps back for good measure. “Well, I should get back to my goods train. I’ll see you later, Edward.”

“Goodbye, BoCo.” Edward watched as his friend vanished back to his real body, before turning his attention to James. “Hello, James. How was your day?” 

“Fine.” James said shortly. “What was BoCo doing here?”

“He was just saying hello. I don’t get to see him very often now that I’m not running my branch line.” Edward shifted, managing to escape the tangle of blankets on the bench so he could push himself to his feet. He was growing tired of sitting, and figured a walk was in order. “BoCo also picked up this hat and scarf for me.” 

“Oh well. How nice of BoCo.” Bitterness was clear in James’ voice. 

Edward looked at his partner with confusion. “James? What’s wrong?”

“You just seemed so comfy snuggled up with BoCo. And now he’s buying you things.” James knew he was being petty, but he couldn’t help but be jealous. He wanted be the one buying his partner things, and cuddling with him, and rubbing his belly. Not anyone else.

“Oh, James.” Edward pulled his partner closer into a hug. Slowly, he felt the tension drain from James’ body as the red engine relaxed into the embrace. “I have lots of friends, and I like being able to see them. But you’re my partner, who I love.”

James mumbled in agreement, hands making their way to the blue engine’s rounded middle. “So you won’t let anyone else touch?”

“Mmm, no.” Edward respected the fact that James was on the possessive side, but that didn’t mean he was going to stop sharing his pregnancy with his friends. “But you can touch whenever you want. This is your baby too.”

“Yes. Yes they are.” James reminded himself that Edward wouldn’t leave him. That the blue engine loved him. Even when he was stupid and forgot about it.

 

The next day was Sunday, which meant making the trek to Knapford to the clinic for a checkup. To the relief of Timothy and Edward, streetcar service had been completed and they no longer needed to walk all the way to the clinic. The streetcars, who were indeed alive, were only too happy to transport their fellow living machines for free. (this courtesy did not extend to their crews, who had to pay full fare.)

Edward took a seat on the crowded streetcar, grateful to get off his feet. The old woman next to him gave him a sympathetic smile. 

“Oh my, dearie. When are you due?”

The engine blushed red under the scarf he had wrapped around his face and neck. He was wearing the knit cap and the scarf given to him by BoCo, using the scarf to conceal the lower part of his face, which had the immediate effect of everyone taking him for a pregnant woman. Not that they were entirely wrong. 

“Just after Christmas,” Edward whispered, keeping his voice low. He had been told when he spoke softly he sounded more feminine, which was not information he had actually needed up until that moment. 

“Oh, still a couple weeks then.” The woman gave his belly a pat. James immediately snarled a little and wrapped an arm around his partner. He didn’t like it when other people, especially strangers, touched Edward. The older woman just grinned knowingly, but pulled back a little to give the engines their space. 

Across the aisle, Porter pulled Timothy a little closer. The oil-burning engine wasn’t nearly as round, and could still pass as just a fat dock-worker. Porter loved his partner’s tummy, though, even if he couldn’t be as obvious about it in public. 

 

After months of weekly appointments, there wasn’t much to go over. Alicia praised them both for being healthy and doing well, and reminded them to pay attention to the needs of their bodies. 

“Now, you are both due between Christmas and New Year’s. But that’s just a best estimate.” Alicia had come to realize that the engines tended to take her predictions as fact, unused to human bodies that occasionally did things for absolutely no reason. “Babies tend to come whenever they feel like coming. Of course, the closer to your due date, the better, but you should be prepared now. Cramps are normal, but if they start coming at steady intervals, that can be a sign of labor.”

Edward and Timothy nodded seriously, both unsettled by the idea that they could go into labor any day now. Though they were quite ready to get back to their normal lives, the reality of actually giving birth seemed an almost insurmountable hurdle. 

Walking out of the clinic, the group made their way to the nearby streetcar stop. 

“Well, we’re headed back to the docks.” Porter commented, an arm around Timothy’s shoulders. The dockside tank engine was tired, and he knew his partner was too. The two had very busy plans of eating lunch and lying in bed to get to. 

“I’m hoping he’ll calm down enough for me to get a few winks.” Timothy said, leaning into Porter and placing a hand on his gravid middle. The oil burning engine didn’t sleep at night anymore, instead choosing to pace the enormous engine rooms of the Roxstar where the other guests didn’t venture. 

Edward nodded sympathetically. He often ended up pacing outside the shed, though the blue engine knew the thought of him wandering around on his own at night gave James nervous fits. Sometimes, though, he just couldn’t handle sitting in bed and being kicked for a moment longer. 

“I was thinking that, we might stay in Knapford for a while longer.” James exchanged a glance with Edward, who was a bit surprised. “To see the sights and such. Edward?”

Well, it wasn’t like he had any plans for the day. “As long as it doesn’t involve too much walking.” Edward agreed. He didn’t particularly feel like going back to Tidmouth sheds yet, and had wanted to see the Christmas decorations in town. 

“Maybe a little.” James admitted. It took so little effort for the red engine to get around as a human; he had forgotten that Edward had a harder time of it. James squeezed his partner’s hand, then leaned over to whisper something to the blue engine’s driver. Charlie rolled his eyes indulgently and passed over Edward’s tin lunchbox. James had already asked him about taking Edward out earlier that day, and Charlie had seen no reason to deny him as long as they were careful. 

The streetcar pulled up to the stop, greeting them with a friendly hello, and Charlie boarded behind Porter and Timothy. Edward and James watched them go, before turning and heading a little further into the city. 

“And where are we going?” Edward asked curiously as James pulled an apple out of the lunch box and started eating it. After a moment’s thought, the red engine pulled out another and handed it to his partner. 

“Just into town.” James replied vaguely. He wanted it to seem like he had something planned, though really he knew very little about Knapford and was mostly winging it. “You wanted to see the Christmas decorations, right?”

“Yes, I did.” Edward smiled, pleasantly surprised that James had remembered that. He tugged down his scarf just enough to bite into the apple he had been given, the food soothing the almost-constant hunger he felt these days. 

Another couple blocks and they reached a large, open square in the center of Knapford’s shopping district. Trees growing in the square were bare of leaves but festooned in white lights, while a towering Christmas tree dominated the center of the space. Huge, shining baubles hung from its branches, though the lights were not turned on, and stacks of colorful presents crowded underneath. 

“It’s beautiful.” Edward said with a smile. He loved Christmas season, all the decorations and lights but also the spirit of giving that defined the holiday. It was always so nice to see the humans happy on the platform, greeting friends and family with laughs and hugs. 

“Come on.” James gently tugged his partner over to a park bench and helped him sink down onto it. Edward did so gratefully, leaning back against the bench and resting his hands atop the swell of his belly. Hawin was quiet and still inside, probably put to sleep by the walk, so there was nothing to distract Edward as he and James sat and people-watched. 

Humans bustled all around the square, going in and out of stores with arms full of shopping bags or just wandering and looking at the decorations. Kids laughed and screamed as they chased each other in and out of the trees, and groups of new mothers pushed baby strollers as they gossiped and walked down the block. 

It was a world at once familiar but still very strange to the engines. Normally, they only observed humans at stations and on platforms, but now they could see what they were like in the cities as well. 

James, being far less interested in humans than his partner, began looking around for something else to do. Edward could stay human all day, but James had a limited time window. The apple he had eaten would give him an extra hour, maybe a little more if he had something else out of the lunch box, but his energy only went so far. 

Seeing Edward wrapped up and warm in the shawl his driver’s wife had knitted him, the scarf and hat BoCo had given him, reminded James that he wanted to buy something for his partner. He didn’t know what, but something. He wouldn’t let others be better providers than he was. James had borrowed some money off his driver for the day, so they could do a little shopping, but there just wasn’t much in the way of material goods that locomotives wanted for. 

Around the square were stores selling candy, bathing supplies, clothing, and more. James pursed his lips as he looked over the selection. He kind of wanted to explore it all, just to satisfy his curiosity, but knew Edward wouldn’t appreciate being dragged from store to store. The blue engine wouldn’t complain, no, but he would suffer through the aches of being on his feet so long quietly and that was almost as bad. James wished that Edward didn’t have to deal with the weight and discomfort of carrying their baby on his own, but that was just how humans worked. 

One of the clothing stores had mannequins in their store window, funny little plastic people to display the clothes. For Christmas, they were wearing knit Christmas jumpers with bold colors and funny patterns. They were ugly in a very endearing sort of way, with their little dancing reindeer or floating pine trees. And several of them were red, which James always approved of. 

Unable to help but wonder what Edward might look like in one of the jumpers, James got to his feet again and held out his hand for Edward. “Let’s go check out that store over there.”

“That store?” Edward wasn’t irritated, only amused, as he was tugged up off the bench and steered towards one of several clothing stores. “And why that store?”

“Driver says that Christmas jumpers are a tradition.” James said confidently as they entered the store. The person behind the counter gave them a curious glance, but was busy with other costumers and soon returned their attention to the register. “You should try one on!”

“Try one on?” Edward repeated with a chuckle, looking at the mannequins with their bright knit pullovers. “James, I’m not sure any will fit me. I don’t think the clothes in the shop are made for someone of my, ah, current shape.”

“Nonsense. They make clothes for the Fat Controller, don’t they?” James looked at the pile of shirts on one of the counters, pulling out one that was labeled ‘large.’ “Try this one!”

Edward rolled his eyes at being compared to the Fat Controller (at this point, he was fairly certain he was larger than the railway owner anyway), but accepted the jumper anyway. In the back of the store was a sign that said “changing room,” which Edward assumed was for changing clothes. The blue engine went into the small room, leaving James outside, and removed his outer layers. The scarf, hat, and shawl were set aside, then Edward pulled the jumper over his head and attempted to pull it down over his torso. Attempted. The hem didn’t seem to want to stretch enough to make it over his belly, even after Edward paused to unbutton his overalls and remove his undershirt. 

“It doesn’t fit.” Edward took it back off again and handed it out the door to James. 

“Let me see if there’s a larger size! Wait right there.” James hurried off back into the store while Edward put his shirt back on and re-did up his overalls. The red engine was back a few seconds later with another jumper, this one labeled “XXL.” It was the largest size he had been able to find on the table. “Try this one.”

Edward put his hand back out for the new shirt and closed the door again. This jumper was large enough to wear his overalls underneath, though that didn’t mean it fit particularly well. Knit fabric was baggy and loose around his shoulders and chest, sleeves a little too long for his arms, but was stretched tight over the gravid curve of his middle. Edward looked at himself in the mirror on the wall, still a little amazed at how round he was. 

“Well?” James demanded from outside. “Does it fit?”

“Kind of?” Edward opened the door to let his partner see. He wasn’t particularly body-shy, even now, but was still a little embarrassed that even the largest size of human clothes didn’t fit properly. 

James looked over his partner, a grin spreading across his face. The jumper he had chosen was red and white, with prancing reindeer that danced their way across Edward’s belly, and James discovered he quite liked seeing the blue engine dressed in red. “It’s perfect! Let’s buy it.”

“Buy it? James, that takes money.” Edward had just assumed this was some random whim.

“Which is why I borrowed some money from my driver.” James grew a little more serious. “Please, let me buy you something?”

Well, Edward couldn’t say no to that. He ducked back into the dressing room to fetch his hat and scarf, then draped his shawl over his shoulders. This time, though, he left the garment open to show off the new jumper he wore underneath. The hat was tugged down over his head, the scarf over his nose and mouth, then Edward followed James over to the register. 

The clerk was a little surprised when they wanted to purchase something while Edward was wearing it, but agreeably walked around to read the price tag sticking out of the back of the jumper and quoted the price to James. The red engine responded by simply pulling out the money he had been given and plunking it on the counter for the store employee to sort out. Human money was confusing, particularly British currency, and James didn’t feel like trying to figure it out himself. 

Fortunately, the clerk was well used to tourists who didn’t know the local currency and counted out the change for James with standard retail-worker boredom. That finished, the cleark looked up to Edward hesitantly. “Uh, miss. Did you want me to remove the tag on that for you?”

It took Edward a moment to realize he was the one being addressed. “Oh! Uh, yes. Sure. Thank you.” He bent over a little so that the clerk could reach up with a pair of scissors and snip off the jumper’s price tag, thereby removing that little itchy piece of irritation from the blue engine’s neck. 

Leaving the store, Edward sighed and snuggled a little deeper into his layers of clothing. He had discovered that since gaining the ability to become human, and especially since becoming pregnant, he had a great love for soft things. Though the cold wasn’t of particular bother to him, especially with warmth radiating from his middle due to the baby, Edward appreciated his new jumper all the same. 

Their next stop was a candy store, where Edward happily accepted a chocolate bar purchased for him by James. The two sat at a little booth in the store and watched pedestrians walking by through the glass store-window as they both ate their candy. 

“Thank you for taking me out today, James.” Sure, Edward’s back was sore and his feet hurt. But he had gotten to see the decorations in town, and spend time with his partner, and had gotten a very comfortable jumper out of it too. 

“Of course!” James said, pleased that his idea had gone over well. “I couldn’t let you sit all day in the yard and be miserable. It’s Christmas.”

“I’m not miserable in the yards.” Edward nudged his partner playfully. He wasn’t very fond of working in the yards, far preferring work on his branch line, but was grateful to be allowed to work at all. What little work he did between long breaks. “But yes, it is Christmas and I appreciate getting to see the town.”

“And your new jumper?” 

“And my new jumper.” Edward agreed with a laugh. “Does this mean you’ll wear something blue?”

James gasped in offence. “Blue, me? Never. But you look very good in red. Almost as good as me.”

Edward rolled his eyes, smiling a little at the teasing despite himself. He leaned over and gave James a quick (and slightly chocolately) kiss. “You’re the best James.”

And James was so pleased to hear that he didn’t even mind the bit of melted chocolate smeared on his cheek. Nobody else would ever be better at making Edward happy, James would make sure of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> with a doodle: http://tinyurl.com/ztlwbew


	29. Chapter 29

Only a few days until Christmas and things were very busy at Brendam Docks. Mail steamers were dropping off packages and letters in mass numbers, along with the usual cargo ships with their goods and supplies for the island. Salty and Porter were rushing about back and forth all day long to keep the docks clear for shipping, and even then things were starting to pile up a little. 

Porter was beginning to feel a little stressed. Timothy had recently stopped working all together, too exhausted to keep up with the sometimes frantic activity at the docks, and with all the work to do Porter felt like he rarely got a chance to see his partner anymore. Timothy was usually sleeping, and on the occasions when he wasn’t in bed he was pacing the cavernous engine rooms of the Roxstar. The ocean liner turned hotel was filling up with Christmas visitors, turning Timothy into somewhat of a recluse. He didn’t like the whispers and stares that followed him as he walked amoungst the humans. 

Though the ship had restaurants, ones where Timothy was allowed to run up a tab that would be covered by his owner, the little oil-burning engine didn’t feel up to visiting them anymore. Besides the fact that he didn’t want to walk that far, people were getting less shy about commenting on his weight the heavier he got. Timothy tried not to let the fat jokes or disdainful looks get to him, but it was hard. 

Fortunately, the onboard restaurants delivered straight to guests’ rooms, allowing Timothy to hide away during the busiest times of the day. Boredom was staved off by the television in his room, allowing Timothy to watch shows and films. It was an interesting window into human life, if nothing else, though Timothy was rarely able to make it all the way through an episode without nodding off. 

“You have caused me a lot of trouble, little one.” Timothy spoke to the curve of his belly as he lay back in his berth, some mindless television programme playing in the background. A mild cramp rippled across his back and sides, making Timothy groan and shift. He had been experiencing cramps on and off for the last couple days, uncomfortable but at least not particularly painful. The first time it happened he had panicked a little bit, thinking that the baby was coming a week early. But when the cramps had tapered off rather than getting more intense, Timothy had remembered that sometimes human bodies would do little ‘practice ones’ and that he shouldn’t worry. 

The baby kicked and squirmed, and with a sigh Timothy heaved himself up off the berth. He hadn’t really been watching the television anyway, and walking around in the engine room for a while might help both calm down the baby and ease the unpleasant tightness in his body. 

Timothy formed a thick jacket and wrapped it around himself as he opened the door and wandered down the hall. He wasn’t very fast, his walk was more of a waddle to be honest, and kept his eyes fixed on the carpet so that he wouldn’t have to make eye contact with any of the few other guests in the hallways. 

Roxstar’s huge engine room was blissfully empty, save for a single crew member that only nodded to Timothy before going back to his task. Timothy gave a sigh of relief and carefully descended one of the engine room ladders down to the deck below. He liked it down here, it was quiet save for the soft groans of the enormous ship’s plating shifting in the waves and the smell of coal and oil was thick in the air. 

The metal deck made Timothy’s footsteps ring hollowly as he paced between the towering steam-turbine engines of the Roxstar. Rubbing his belly gently, Timothy hummed some song he’d heard on the television under his breath. His voice cut off with a groan, though, when he felt another cramp tighten around his body. Rather than fading away, they were beginning to get worse. Timothy bent over as best he could and pressed his hand against the swell of his middle in discomfort. As the pain peaked, he felt an odd sensation between his legs as something inside him snapped and fluid suddenly oozed down his thighs. These weren’t just practice contractions, clearly, the baby was actually coming! 

It took the oil-burning engine a few minutes to calm down enough to concentrate. He just had to get outside and get Porter, his partner’s driver would be able to contact the Fat Controller and then they could go to the doctor’s and everything would be fine. 

Walking towards the ladder that would lead back out of the engine room, Timothy grimaced at the feeling of the fabric of his over-alls plastered to his inner thighs by the sticky fluid that had come out of him. He paused long enough summon clean clothes, though didn’t have anything to wipe off his thighs with. 

Climbing the ladders out of the engine room was a monumental task in a way it had never been before. Timothy had to pause after the first flight to catch his breath, panting hard from the exertion, and after the second as another contraction hit. He wanted nothing more than to just sit down against a wall and rest, but there was no way he’d sit here in the empty engine room of an ocean liner and give birth alone. 

Despite being in a hurry, Timothy really couldn’t waddle any faster as he made his way down the hallways of the third-class deck towards the lift. Once inside, though, the gravid engine breathed a sigh of relief and hit the button for the main deck. The lift paused again at the second-class deck to let on a few other guests, who looked at Timothy was some concern. 

“Are you okay, sir?” One of the other guests asked, seeing Timothy grimace and grip the hand-bar on the inside of the lift with a white-knuckled fist. 

“Yes, thank you.” The oil-burning managed to get the words out, smiling shakily as he straightened and waddled out of the lift. He didn’t need the humans worrying about him, it would just lead to too many questions. 

Finally outside and in the fresh air, Timothy was disappointed that Porter wasn’t anywhere in sight. Fortunately, however, BoCo was sitting next to the Roxstar with coaches loading up passengers. 

“BoCo!” Timothy slowly made his way down the boarding steps and onto the secure solid-ness of the concrete seawall. “Have you seen Porter?”

“I think he’s on the other side of the docks. Why, is something wrong?” BoCo was concerned to see the other engine looking worried and in pain.

“The baby is coming.” Timothy panted and sat down on one of the large mooring bollards on the dockside. “I need. .. I need Porter.”

“The- the baby?” BoCo stared at him wide-eyed for a moment before shifting over to his human form and taking off across the docks in a full-out run. “I’ll be right back!”

Over near Cranky, Salty was very surprised to see BoCo in human form sprinting across the tracks. “Whoa, there, sailor! Where’s the fire?”

“Do you know where Porter is?” BoCo skidded to a halt, nearly tripping over the many sets of rails. “It’s Timothy.”

“What’s Timothy?” Porter chuffed out of the dock sheds, a worried expression on his face. “Is something wrong? Where is he?”

“He’s over by the Roxstar,” BoCo nodded back towards his engine body. “The baby is coming!”

“What?! But it’s still five days until his due date!” Porter immediately abandoned his work and rushed over towards the Roxstar. “Timothy!”

Timothy looked up upon hearing his partner’s voice and smiled. “Porter. The baby-“

“I heard, I heard.” Porter moved to his human form and jumped down to wrap up Timothy in a tight embrace. Meanwhile, the tank engine’s driver ran over to the dock manager’s office to call the Fat Controller. They needed immediate clearance to run on the mainline to Knapford. 

That done, Porter was moved back to couple up to Timothy’s engine body, which was sitting cold and empty on a siding by the Roxstar. Porter then picked up Timothy’s human form, cradling him in his arms as he stepped up into Timothy’s open cab. The lack of sides was a bit unnerving, but there wouldn’t be room for both of them in Porter’s more crowded cab. 

“How are you doing?” Porter sat down on the footplate, still holding Timothy in his arms, as they began to move down the track.

“Fine.” Timothy felt much better now that he was securely curled up in his partner’s lap and on the way to the doctor. Though, it didn’t make the contractions any less painful. As another worked its way through his body, like a giant fist squeezing about his middle, Timothy groaned and shut his eyes. “Just. . . hurts.”

“I’m sorry.” Porter ran a hand through his partner’s short, black hair. “I wish there was something I could do.” 

“This. Helps.” Timothy turned his face into his partner’s chest. There was no heartbeat to hear, no rhythm of breathing to feel, but it was still comforting just to know that it was Porter. There, and strong, and patient. 

 

The sight of Porter rushing down the mainline, running blank with Timothy in tow, was quick to become gossip fodder. And really, there was only one reason for those two to be in such a hurry. 

Edward was shunting in the yard at Tidmouth when James rushed in with a train, blowing his whistle excitedly. “Edward, did you hear? Timothy is having his baby!”

“What, really?” The blue engine looked at his partner in surprise. Edward honestly hadn’t thought Timothy would be first, especially since both of them were still several days from their due date. “Is he okay?”

“I don’t know.” James hadn’t actually seen the two, only heard the news from BoCo. “More importantly, are you okay? No pain, not going into labor? Do we need to get you to the doctor?”

“I’m fine, James.” Edward gave little laugh. He was a bit uncomfortable, but there were no cramps or labor pains in sight. “I don’t think Hawin intends to come out today, don’t worry.”

“Good. I expect them to stay in there until at least after Christmas.”

“I don’t think it’s up to you.” Edward said with amusement. He’d prefer Hawin to stay put until after Christmas too, if only because Alicia had said that getting as close to his due date as he could was best, but it wasn’t like he had any real control over it. 

Edward did, however, want to go to the doctor’s office in Knapford. He wanted to be there to support his friend, for one, but also thought it would be a good idea to see first-hand the experience he himself would be going through soon enough. 

Once James had left again, Edward asked his driver if he could be allowed to go to Knapford to visit Timothy. Charlie didn’t mind the request at all, though he did make a quick run to the telephone to call Alicia and ask if Timothy was up for guests. Not everybody wanted their friends on hand while giving birth, after all. 

Fortunately for Edward, Timothy apparently didn’t mind having the blue engine visit at all. So, after another call to the Fat Controller for clearance to run to Knapford, they were off. 

At the doctor’s clinic, their usual private examination room had been converted into a birthing suite. Timothy was sitting on the edge of the table, dressed in a thin gown instead of his normal clothes, but managed to look up and smile when he saw Edward enter despite the obvious discomfort he was in. 

“Hello, Timothy.” Edward came over to Timothy and rested a hand on the other engine’s back, rubbing where he knew the weight of pregnancy ached the worst. “How are you? Where’s Porter?”

“He tired himself out. He said he’d come back as soon as he could.” Timothy sighed. He missed his partner already, but was glad to have a friend there with him to keep him company. “I’m okay. Everything just hurts. Aa-“ He groaned and pressed both hands to his middle, closing his eyes as he tried to breathe through another contraction. They were getting closer together and worse as time went on. As Alicia had said they must, not that it made it any more pleasant for Timothy to experience. 

Timothy couldn’t stay in one position for too long, so after another few minutes he slipped off the berth to pace the room. Keeping one hand on the wall for support, he walked slow circuts of the room. Edward, though he very much would have liked to sit down, stayed with Timothy to rub his back and offer kind words. 

One thing that the pregnancy books hadn’t gotten across was just how long a process labor was. Another few hours, though, and soon the contractions were longer than the gaps between them and Timothy was forced to return to the berth. He couldn’t stay on his feet anymore. Around that time, Timothy’s driver Raman returned as well. The man had run home to pick up all the baby supplies he had gathered, to be ready to take the newborn home once he was ready. For now, though, he sat in one of the chairs in the room. 

Fortunately, by then Porter was back and able to take over comforting his partner again. Edward took a seat next to Raman, murmuring soft reassurances to a very active Hawin in his belly as he watched Alicia give Timothy a look over. 

“You’re doing very well, Timothy.” Alicia praised as she knelt between his legs, which were spread wide in the stirrups of the table. “I think your baby is just about here. When you feel that next contraction, I want you to push with it. Right where you feel my fingers.” She pressed her hand down between his legs. 

Timothy couldn’t speak, just nodding to show that he had heard and understood. Tears were now streaming freely down his face, which was red with effort as he put all his energy into pushing. The little oil burning engine couldn’t keep in a cry of pain as the contraction peaked, then passed, leaving him panting hard on the table. Porter brushed his free hand through his partner’s hair; his other one was trapped tightly in Timothy’s grasp. It was fortunate that Porter was not human, or he might have lost his hand to his partner’s crushing grip. 

No book or story could’ve prepared Timothy for the feeling of being stretched wide, an incredible pressure like nothing he’d ever known pressing between his legs. Worse than any blown safety valve or broken part. The burning stretch did not subside even as the contraction did, giving Timothy little time to rest before having to push again. 

“I can see the head.” Alicia announced. “Just a little bit more, Timothy.”

Another pained scream from Timothy, who was far beyond all concerns of appearance or being quiet, and then there was a new sound. The cry of a baby. 

“Ooh, and here’s your little boy.” Alicia carefully cut the umbilical cord and wrapped the baby up in a soft blanket, wiping away some of the goo from his face before walking around the table so that Timothy and Porter could see their son. Neither engine had ever seen a human so tiny, staring at the little pink wrinkly creature they had created. 

“He’s. . . okay?” Timothy panted, reaching up one hand to touch his son’s cheek. The baby’s cries had softened to little whimpers, but he still looked quite unhappy to be out in the world. 

“He’s perfect.” Alicia confirmed. Timothy smiled, satisfied with that, before giving a tired sigh and vanishing. 

Porter startled a bit, looking at the table where his partner had been, “Is he-?”

“I’m sure he’s just tired.” Alicia was glad she had taken the time to speak to Hercules, the only other living machine they knew who had given birth, or she would’ve been much more startled to see Timothy disappear. “He deserves a rest. Here, would you like to hold your son?” She held the baby out to Porter, who very, very carefully took the tiny human. 

“He’s so small.” Porter felt terrified that he would make one wrong move and break the little baby. “Do humans really start so tiny?”

“They do.” Alicia said with some amusement. “Did you choose a name?”

“A name?” No, the two engines had not chosen a name. Instead, Porter looked over to Raman. The man was sitting on the edge of his seat, eager to meet the baby that he would be adopting but holding himself back in respect of the biological parents. 

“I. I did pick a name. Since Timothy said he wasn’t interested.” Raman said quietly. “What do you think of Song?”

“I love it.” Porter was more than willing to let the human choose the name for his child, having no ideas and nothing in mind himself. Song was a wonderful name. 

After a few more minutes holding his son, who was quickly quieting down into sleep, Porter couldn’t keep his worry for his partner at bay any longer. “I should go check on Timothy. Make sure he’s okay.” He gently handed baby Song back to Alicia before vanishing. 

With both Timothy and Porter gone, Raman finally stood and came over. “Excuse me. But, may I-?”

“Of course.” Alicia passed over the baby to Raman, who cradled him with the utmost reverence as he went back to his seat. 

Now, finally, Edward could also take a good look at the newborn. He couldn’t believe that something so small could cause so much trouble. That he himself would be going through the same thing very soon for his own baby. 

When Alicia needed Raman to fill out some paperwork, Edward was given baby Song to hold. The blue engine rested the newborn against the curve of his belly, just a slight weight compared to Hawin sitting heavy inside him. And he wondered if, at the end of it all, Hawin would be just as small.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One down. . .


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait everyone, another fic has been consuming my time lately. 
> 
> Still not entirely satisfied with this chapter, but it took long enough to get out I'm not going to sit on it editting any longer.

Christmas came and the whole Island of Sodor celebrated. Raman, Timothy’s driver, had been showing off the new baby for the last several days, carrying Song around in a little sling and proudly presenting him to every Northwestern Rail employee. Between the new baby and all the holiday festivities to prepare for, things were very hectic in the days leading up to the holiday. 

On Christmas Day itself, though, there was nothing to do. No trains to pull, or shunting to do. The human crews stayed home to celebrate with their families, and the engines were left to their own devices. 

Edward decided that he didn’t want to be cooped up in the shed all day, since he would likely be stuck inside soon enough, and instead went with James to the Tidmouth town square to people-watch. 

Bundled up in several warm layers, Edward settled himself on an open bench and rested both hands on his belly as he watched humans bustle to and fro. James plopped himself next to his partner and curled into the blue engine’s side, one hand joining those on Edward’s belly. Ever since Timothy had his baby, James seemed to be constantly worried that Edward might just suddenly go into labor at any time and insisted on being as physically close to his partner as possible. Not that Edward minded. James had been very busy with holiday traffic lately and the couple hadn’t been able to see as much of each other as they’d like. 

“Sure you’re feeling okay?” James asked again, rubbing his partner’s belly as he felt the baby shift inside. 

“I’m fine, James.” Edward responded with a little laugh. “The baby isn’t coming today, I promise.”

“Good. I expect them to stay in there until at least after Boxing Day.” James rested his cheek on Edward’s shoulder, munching contentedly on a bag of crisps liberated from the crew break room. 

“I’m not sure it’s your choice.” Edward commented, amused. “But I’ll do my best.”

A group of wandering carolers came by, serenading the couple with several traditional Christmas tunes. Edward clapped appreciatively at their singing, pulling some coins out of the wallet his driver had given to him as he knew was expected. Normally, the engines spent Christmas day back at their sheds. It was nice to experience the human customs every once and a while. 

James couldn’t stay out all day, though, so eventually the two had to make their way back to Tidmouth sheds. The younger engines had started up another snowball fight, though (perhaps fortunately) James had to rest in his engine form and could not join in. 

Edward remained outside to watch the chaos, sitting in a chair against the shed wall which was hopefully well enough back from the fight to avoid getting caught in the crossfire this time, and munched slowly on a dinner which had been dropped off by his driver. He wouldn’t have the chance to do this for much longer, breathing the cold air and eating human food, so he wanted to take advantage of enjoying the little things while they lasted. 

After an hour or so, those participating in the snowball fight tired themselves out and went back to the shed to rest. Edward followed, collapsing on his bed with a sigh and picking up one of the pregnancy books to browse it’s well-worn pages. He wouldn’t need the books much longer, only a couple more days if Hawin came on time, but it never hurt to go over them just one more time. 

James joined him a little while later, laying on his front in the bed and pulling up Edward’s shirt so that he could address his partner’s belly. “You did good today, Hawin. Still right where you should be.” The red engine gave Edward’s belly button a little kiss. “Now you just stay in there tomorrow too, alright?”

“I’m sure they’ll try their hardest.” Edward said with a laugh. 

Boxing day was always a busy one for the railway. The sheds were empty all day as the Tidmouth residents were out working the increased passenger traffic. All save for Edward, who spent the day relaxing in bed. His driver and fireman dropped by with food and several new books to help stave off the boredom, which was greatly appreciated by the blue engine. 

Though he had thought maybe Hawin would choose to come on Boxing Day, just to spite James, Edward made it through the day with no pains. The baby moved around a little, rolling and kicking restlessly, but otherwise seemed content to stay put. 

That continued to be true the next few days, until the day before New Year’s when it was time for an appointment with Alicia. 

“Shouldn’t they be out by now?” Edward asked with a little worry, seated on the table in the private examination room. Both hands rested on the swell of his belly, still inching ever larger. The Christmas jumper James had bought him didn’t actually fit anymore, despite being alright the week before, though Edward had still stubbornly managed to pull it on.

“Babies don’t follow a set schedule.” Alicia said with a laugh. She was a little surprised that Edward hadn’t gone into labor yet, since Timothy had been early and the two had conceived roughly around the same time, but there was no reason to worry yet. “I can give you some methods to try and induce labor, if you want?”

Edward waddled out of the office with a paper in his hand, a short list of suggestions printed on it. James was pressed against his back, peering curiously over his partner’s shoulder to read the suggestions on the paper. 

“Spicy food? Walks? We can do that.” James read aloud as they came to the streetcar stop and Edward gratefully sat down on the provided bench. “And. Intercourse? What’s that?”

Charlie put a hand over his mouth to muffle his laughter. “It means sex, James.”

“Oh!” Both engines looked at each other, a hint of blush decorating their cheeks. They had given sex a few more tries in recent months to little avail. Edward could feel the pleasure well enough, but James experienced very little sensation. Each time, they’d eventually given up unsatisfied and tired. 

“Does that really work?” Edward questioned, looking over to his driver curiously. No harm in trying again if the results would be promising. 

“Must, if Alicia put it on the list.” Charlie said prudently. 

“Well, then we shall have to give it another try.” James still felt bad about being unable to please his partner, but if this worked it would be worth it. 

“Tonight?” Edward suggested with a little smile. 

Charlie tried very hard to keep a straight face. He was glad they were doing well, but he really, really did not need to think about his engine doing such activities. “Maybe keep that talk for the shed, huh?”

Edward was quick to apologize, though James just smirked. He was already making plans for later. 

 

Back at the shed, Edward settled down into bed with a book. Not one of his pregnancy books, for once, but a fantasy novel about high adventure and magic. It was surprisingly engaging, so much so that Edward was almost disappointed a few hours later when James crept into the small room and inserted himself between his partner and the novel he was reading. 

“Yes?” Edward said with an amused chuckle, putting down his book and looking down at James stretched out in his lap. “Did you need something?”

“Well, you saw that list earlier today. About getting some. . . intercourse.” James waggled his eyebrows. There was a flicker and his clothing suddenly vanished, leaving the red engine totally naked atop the blankets. “No time like the present.”

“Well then. How can I deny a request like that?” Edward pushed the blankets, James included, off and kicked the covers to the end of the bed. His own clothes vanished as well, Edward readjusting himself to lay back into the pillows at the head of the bed. 

James had quite the confident smirk on his face as he crawled towards his partner, running his hands over Edward’s thighs and leaning down to give the blue engine’s protruding navel a little lick. That got him a delighted gasp, Edward burying one hand in James’ hair as the red engine’s fingers tickled higher up his thighs. 

It was very clear to the both of them that they would not be able to have sex the same way they had previously. Edward’s belly was much too large to permit James to lay on top of him, and besides that the red engine’s genitalia wasn’t actually functional in this form. As they had both discovered during their last attempt a few months before. 

Fortunately, James had made a little stop to chat with Gordon’s driver Sam to get some advice. If he didn’t have a penis to use, he would have to make do with his fingers and his tongue. Sam had offered him the use of a false penis, but James figured he’d only try that as a last result. 

So far, the fingers were proving very effective. James paused long enough to add a little lubricant to his right hand before returning it to his partner’s crotch, using his left to lavish attention on the round curve of Edward’s belly. The soft whines and whimpers from the head of the bed told him he was on the right track, encouraging James to delve a little deeper with his fingers. 

This was certainly going better than their last attempt. Edward tossed his head back, pressing into the pillows and arching his back as best he could as James found a very nice spot inside him. He panted, feeling as though he couldn’t get enough oxygen into his body with each breath. Then, he realized he actually couldn’t breathe deeply. The weight of the baby on his torso was too much for his lungs, he couldn’t lie on his back any longer.

“James.” Edward gasped, reaching down to pat a hand against his partner’s head. “James!”

It took James a moment to realize that his name was not being uttered in rapturous bliss, but that Edward actually needed his attention. James removed his hand and sat up on his knees. “What, what? Is it the baby?”

“No, I just-“ Edward rolled onto his side, taking a deep breath now that he was able. “Couldn’t breathe. Little Hawin is heavy.” 

“Oh.” James felt a little dumb for not realizing that might be a problem. He hovered over his partner, not quite touching, worried that perhaps his blunder had ruined their night. “Uh, you going to be alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” Edward grabbed a pillow and tucked it under his belly for support, then curled up one leg as invitation. “Shall we continue where we left off?”

James eagerly returned to his previous activity, and with Edward lying on his side James was very pleased to discover that he could now lean forward and kiss his partner. Though the red engine wasn’t not getting any physical pleasure from this himself, the knowledge that Edward was enjoying this very much was more than enough for James. 

Edward was clutching the pillow against his front, legs twitching helplessly as James’ fingers continued to explore him. Sometimes going in deep, spreading him wide, and then pulling back to play with and massage around the outside. Never staying with one thing long enough for him to get used to the sensation, always moving and changing. 

The heat inside Edward’s body was building, moving towards some kind of release. It had been so long, he almost forgot what this felt like. “Oh, James.” His voice was faint, not due to being crushed this time but simply because it he couldn’t seem to think straight long enough to even take a full breath. 

James leaned forward and kissed Edward, silencing his cries. And then, seconds later, swallowed the blue engine’s scream as well as he reached his release. Every muscle tightened as Edward shuddered in orgasm, then he went completely limp. Unable to move even an inch. 

Smirking, James gathered his tired partner in his arms. (After wiping off his hand on a nearby rag, of course.) “So, how was that?”

“That was. .. really good.” Edward murmured. He couldn’t think of anything better, couldn’t put words to the experience he’d just had. 

“And the baby?” James rubbed the blue engine’s round belly, a little surprised that were wasn’t any movement from inside. 

“Still here.” Edward laughed a little, hands joining the ones on his middle.

“Well then we’ll just have to try again tomorrow night.” James asserted, bending down to grab the blankets that had been shoved to the end of the bed and pulling the covers up over them both. 

Edward thought that sounded like a fantastic idea, smiling as he snuggled closer to his partner and drifted to sleep. 

 

The next morning, Edward was awoken by a not entirely unusual occurance in Tidmouth Sheds: the sound of arguing. What was notable, though, was that it wasn’t Gordon and James having a disagreement, or Thomas pouting to anyone who would listen. Instead, he could clearly hear the Fat Controller himself debating with James. 

“It’s New Year’s, sir! I don’t want him to have to spend the whole night in here alone. What if something happens?” James could very easily be heard even through the wall. “Can’t I stay here with him?”

“No, James. I need all my engines to pull passengers tonight. With Edward not working, I need everyone else on duty.” The Fat Controller spoke with his usual patience, though he seemed to be nearing the end of it.

“Well then, can’t Edward come with? He could double-head my train again, like two years ago.” 

With some surprise, Edward realized they were discussing him. That was right, the Earl of Sodor would be hosting his big New Year’s fireworks party that night. Edward had almost forgotten, having written off attending the event months ago. After all, he –should’ve- been recovering from giving birth over the holiday, not still pregnant. 

Honestly, he didn’t want to spend the whole night in the shed alone. Edward enjoyed watching the fireworks, liked seeing all the happy people crowding the lawns at Ulfstead castle. Especially liked cuddling up to James while the display boomed overhead. 

“James, Edward is full-term with his pregnancy. I’m sure he doesn’t want to go anywhere that far from home, and even if he did what if he went into labor?”

Deciding it was time to interrupt this conversation, Edward closed his eyes and moved over to his engine form. It was a little disorientating, he hadn’t done this since before Christmas, but he quickly settled in and opened his eyes to see James and Sir Topham staring at him. 

“Do I get a say in this?” Edward asked quietly, looking between the two. 

The Fat Controller seemed quite surprised by that, but nodded. “Alright, Edward. What would you like to do tonight?”

“I would like to go up to the castle for the fireworks, sir. If you would allow me.” Edward was quite aware that ultimately it was not up to him, but it couldn’t hurt to make his desires known. “I do enjoy the celebrations.”

“You’re sure, Edward?” Sir Topham hadn’t expected to hear that from the responsible, level-headed blue engine. “You realize that it will be a long night? And, well, you are overdue. The baby could decide to come at any time.”

“Better that they come when I am around others, than when I am all alone in the shed.” Edward said practically. 

Sir Topham sighed. He could just order Edward to stay and James to go, but between James’ honest desire to not spend the holiday away from his partner and Edward’s polite request to be allowed to attend the party, he just didn’t have the heart. “Alright, you may go. Double head the Wellsworth-Ulfstead train with James, just be careful and don’t take any risks.”

“Yes sir.” Both engines chorused. 

 

Later that night, James went to fetch their coaches while Edward’s crew tended to him. Charlie and Sidney had been called in earlier, to stoke up the low fire that had been left burning in the blue engine’s fire box and bring him back up to operating pressure. 

“You’re sure you want to do this?” Charlie asked as he methodically oiled Edward’s running gear. The man could remember his wife’s first pregnancy; she’d refused to leave the house for the entire final month. He was rather surprised Edward wanted to make the trek up to Ulfstead and stay awake all night around the thick crowds of people. 

“I enjoy the celebrations.” Edward said simply. It was true that he didn’t feel entirely well; though he was in his engine body he was uncomfortably heavy and hot. But he didn’t relish the idea of another night alone with his books while everyone else was out having fun. And besides that, wasn’t he supposed to keep physically active to try and encourage labor?

Still, it wasn’t entirely easy to go back to his human body and heft himself up into one of the coaches. He settled down onto the bench next to their guard, carefully making sure his scarf concealed his face and wrapping up comfortably in his shawl. Edward’s crew had impressed on him that it was best to let people mistakenly believe he was a pregnant woman, which meant limiting his contact with non-railway employees and keeping his face fairly covered. At least, in his human form. 

As an engine, Edward could happily greet the people standing at the Wellsworth platform when he and James pulled up with their passenger train. A great crowd was waiting, bundled up against the cold but excited to attend the fireworks display. Many of them were regular commuters who rode the train every day, and were excited to see Edward there with the train. The blue engine hadn’t pulled trains through Wellsworth in more than a month, and apparently his regular riders had been worried for him. An almost-painful smile stretched across Edward’s face as everyone expressed their delight at seeing him working again, he was hardly able to believe that so many people who only knew him in passing cared so much. Normally, James would’ve been very jealous indeed that someone else was receiving more attention than he, but this time the red engine just sat and enjoyed his partner’s happiness. 

Up at Ulfstead castle, it seemed as though the entire island was gathered. James and Edward dropped off their passengers, then found a bit of spare space on a siding and moved over to their human forms. Normally the two watched the fireworks from safely atop James’ boiler, but that wouldn’t be an option this year. Charlie had helpfully packed a thick blanket for the two to spread out on the ground, it was just a matter of finding a place to park themselves. 

James was all for elbowing their way through the crowds to try and find the perfect view of the sky, but Edward wasn’t really up for thick crowds. He was too big, too unsteady, to feel comfortable trying to push through the veritable wall of people occupying the castle grounds. Eventually, James relented and they settled down close to their real bodies. Closer than normal humans were allowed to sit, due to the danger of steam relief valves and hot steel, which afforded a little elbow room for the couple. 

“You sure you’re alright?” James had been asking that every few minutes, any time Edward winced or groaned or expressed any discomfort at all. 

“Yes, James, I’m fine.” Edward reassured once again. He slowly lowered himself down onto the blanket that had been spread out, seating himself on the ground and leaning back against James’ solid body with relief. He had been very certain that he wanted to come out tonight, no point in complaining that his ankles and his back hurt now. There wasn’t really any relief from the soreness anyway, not at this stage, though a massage from James certainly helped. 

Edward sighed as James kneaded his back, the red engine having gained quite the talent in massages after months of giving them. People wandered by, most families with small children wandering around as they enjoyed the live music and activities that had been set up for folks to enjoy while they waited for midnight. Some stopped to make conversation with the couple, since, as Edward had discovered, being pregnant meant that everyone felt entitled to stop and inquire about his health.

James, possessive as ever, wrapped arms securely around Edward as the blue engine quietly answered curious questions. Yes, they were very excited for their first child. The baby’s room was all ready to go (no need to mention that they weren’t the ones who had appointed it), they had everything they needed. Yes, he was full term and still out to see the fireworks, only one baby. No, they didn’t know the gender, nor did they care. 

“You’re very popular tonight.” James commented as the number of passers-by began to dwindle. It was nearly midnight, which meant people were wandering back towards their blankets and staked out spots. 

“So I’ve noticed.” Edward didn’t mind talking to people, but he was already exhausted. He snuggled a little more securely against James, pulling his shawl around him better to keep out the cold. His breath fogged in the night air, and it was probably fortunate that no one had noticed the complete lack of misty exhales from James. “Part of having a baby I guess.”

James’ hands had found their way under his layer of clothing to rub Edward’s belly, feeling the lazy shifting of Hawin inside. He was distracted, though, when somewhere someone yelled “Ten!” The rest of the hundreds of people continued the count. “Nine! Eight! Seven, six, five, four. Three! Two! One!”

As the crowds shouted “HAPPY NEW YEAR” the first of the fireworks boomed overhead. Edward smiled to see the colorful flashes of light exploding in the night sky over Ulfstead, glad he’d come. Even if he was tired. 

Of course, Hawin didn’t appreciate the loud noises nearly as much as their parent. An unhappy squirming distracted Edward from the fireworks, and he whispered an apology to the little one even as he enjoyed the display. 

“They don’t like fireworks?” James had to speak loudly into his partner’s ear to be heard over the noise.

“I guess not.” Edward responded with amusement. He let out a whuff of air when he took a kick to the ribs. It did hurt a little, and he felt a little bad for subjecting the baby to the incredible din of the pyrotechnics. He still didn’t regret coming, though. 

“Are they coming?” James was a little concerned for that. Loud noises hadn’t been included on the list of “things that induce labor” but who knew. He was excited and terrified at the same time at the idea of Edward finally having the baby, but hoped that said moment wouldn't be right now.

“No, still not coming.” Edward was certain of that, at least. 

 

Everyone clapped and cheered as the last of the fireworks cracked above Ulfstead castle, another amazing display by Sir Robert for the enjoyment of the Sudric people. The engines hitched back up their coaches and started the chaotic process of loading the party attendees back onto the trains to return to their homes. Edward fell asleep just after Wellsworth, unable to stay awake any longer even with all the excitement of the evening, but James didn’t mind dropping off the coaches himself and pushing his partner into his berth at Tidmouth sheds. The red engine hadn’t expected to get to spend New Year’s with his partner this year, and was so happy he’d gotten to do it. Even if it meant waiting a little while longer for their baby.


	31. Chapter 31

New Years passed, and winter returned with a vengeance. Snow piled up on Sodor, keeping Donald and Douglas busy clearing the lines, and it really wasn’t a good time for the island to have two locomotives out of commission. (For Timothy was still recovering and hadn’t been able to return to work yet.) But, they had to make do with what they had. 

The Sunday after the holiday found Edward at another disappointing check up. Alicia said that things looked good. The baby was head-down, curled up and ready for birth. It was now just a waiting game. She was hesitant to try labor-inducing drugs, given that there wasn’t really a way of blood-testing Edward. Hell, they didn’t even know how his circulatory system worked or what effect drugs would have on him. 

Eventually, though, Alicia had to concede that the baby needed to come out one way or another. Little Hawin wasn’t so little anymore, and now rather than worrying about low birth weight, Alicia was concerned that the baby might be getting too large. Edward had nice, wide hips, but there were limits. Timothy had experiences a fairly textbook birth (and from her talks with Hercules, she knew the tugboat had been the same), but two was a pretty small sample size. 

“Is- is something wrong?” Edward asked, both hands on his belly somewhat fearfully as Alicia tried to explain this to him in a way that wouldn’t scare the poor engine. 

The young med-student grad sighed. “Not yet. Look, you’ve been so well so far. If the baby hasn’t come by next week, we’ll look into drugs that will induce labor. I have hope that they’ll choose to come out on their own before then though. When you go into labor, I want you to come straight here, okay? Hawin is getting pretty big, and if there’s any trouble I’d rather you be here.”

Edward nodded seriously. Behind him, James copied his motion. 

“I’ll make sure he gets here.” The red engine promised. He wasn’t about to let anything happen to his partner or their little one. 

 

There was nothing for Edward to do over the next week, except sit in bed and read. Once a day or so, his crew came by to take him for a walk through the ever-deepening snow outside Tidmouth sheds. Though he wore the same path through the drifts, the wind and snow overnight would cover up his tracks to be made once more in the morning. 

As dreary as the cold, snowy walks were, Edward kept heaving himself out of bed to take them. Physical activity was one way to try and induce labor, and the blue engine was determined to not still be pregnant by his next check up. 

Three days since his check up found Edward sitting in his bed, leaning against James and getting a back massage. The red engine was chatting away about some offense or another that had occurred that day, though Edward wasn’t particularly listening. Something about Georgette (for James was still a little sore about the other mainline red engine) and her breaking down due to the snow. He cut himself off, though, when he felt Edward shudder a bit and groan uncomfortably. 

“Are you okay, Edward?” James was immediately concerned, leaving his story for another day. “Is it the baby? Is it coming?”

“I- I don’t think so.” Edward took a deep breath as the pain faded. That wasn’t enough for James, though. He continued watching his partner like a hawk the rest of the night, and when Edward felt another cramp that was enough for James. 

Everyone in the shed startled when James popped back into his real body, yelling about the baby being on the way. Fortunately, Gordon’s crew was still around. Sam and Steve were quick to jump into James’ cab and stoke up his fire, moving him out of the shed to couple him up to the blue No. 2 engine in the next stall over. Edward, in his human form, was carefully hustled up into his cab and settled down onto the footplate. He still thought this was a lot of bother, but Alicia’s words came back to him. That, as soon as he felt the baby coming, he had to get to Knapford to the clinic. 

A call to the Fat Controller ensured the signals were clear for them through to Knapford Station. As soon as they arrived, James didn’t feel like waiting for Edward to make his slow way across the platform to the streetcar stop outside. He just picked up his partner, who groaned uncomfortably at suddenly being whisked off his feet, and strode across the platform at an almost-run. Sam and Steve were forced to rush to keep up.

“Where is that damn streetcar?” James tapped his foot impatiently, looking down the tracks for the tell-tale headlight. He had half a mind to just walk all the way to the clinic. 

“I’m sure they’ll be here soon.” Edward reassured, wondering if it was worth it to ask to be set down. James seemed about to explode from stress. Meanwhile, the blue engine wasn’t feeling so bad anymore. He hadn’t had a cramp in a while, though after so much fuss from James he decided not to mention that. 

Sure enough, a cheery blue streetcar pulled up to the platform a moment later with a bright “ring ring” from her bell. 

“Knapford Station.” She announced loudly. “With service to Midtown!”

“You’re late!” James immediately burst out, stomping on board with Edward in his arms. “This is an emergency, we are very much in a hurry. Get us to the clinic, quickly as you can. No stops!”

“James.” Edward groaned in embarrassment. He was about to apologize to the streetcar on his partner’s behalf when they lurched into motion. Rude or not, it had worked. They rushed right past the streetcar’s usual stops and screeched to a halt right in front of the clinic. James ran out without so much as a thank you, though Edward remembered to call out a quick thanks over his partner’s shoulder. Sam dropped a few coins in the very confused operator’s hand and rushed out after the engines. 

Alicia was there waiting for them, somewhat anxious but grateful that the time had finally come. She was confused, then, when Edward arrived looking a little tired but otherwise okay. Especially in contrast to his very worked up partner. 

“How far apart are your contractions?” Alicia asked, coming forward to examine the blue engine. 

“Um?” Edward tried to think, but it was difficult to remember if the cramps had been coming at regular intervals at all. “I just felt some cramping, here and there. It’s stopped now.”

“Stopped?” Alicia sighed, feeling the adrenaline fade. “I think you were just feeling Braxton Hicks. Practice contractions. You’ll be able to tell actual labor when the contractions get more intense, and come at regular intervals. But I don’t think that baby is coming today.”

“What?!” James looked between his partner and Alicia with confusion. He had been so sure. So ready. To meet Hawin today. And the cramps Edward had felt were just some kind of practice?

 

“Sorry, James.” Despite the stress and fright of earlier, Edward had truly hoped this was it. Today would be finally be the day that they met Hawin. Apparently it was not to be. 

“Hey, it’s alright.” Alicia put a hand on the engine’s shoulder and smiled encouragingly. “If the cramps you feel are getting stronger, that’s a good thing. Means your body is getting ready. It can be hard to tell it from labor. True labor is when the cramps get more intense, and start coming closer together.”

Edward nodded seriously, looking back to a rather sheepish James. They’d both remember that for next time, instead of jumping the gun and working themselves up into a panic. 

 

“I’m sorry, Edward.” James offered as they walked back to their engine bodies a little later. He had offered to carry his partner again, but Edward had declined. Yes, his back and feet hurt, but darn it he was going to keep up his physical activity in the hopes the baby would come. 

“It’s okay, James.” The blue engine offered a tired smile as they finally reached Knapford and he could sit down on his footplate with a sigh. Edward rested a hand on his middle, rubbing in large, circular motions to try and settle an active Hawin inside. The baby shifted, stretching Edward’s belly into an oblong shape, before settling back down. James was, as always, fascinated, and came over to add his hands to the task. 

“Not that I don’t enjoy doing this.” James slipped his hands under the layers his partner wore, feeling the warm, tightly stretched skin that concealed their baby. 

“I wouldn’t mind getting back to normal.” Edward countered with a soft chuckle. “Getting back to my work. I guess I just have to be patient.”

“You’re good at that.” James gave him a kiss, before vanishing back to his true body so they could return to Tidmouth. 

 

 

Cramps and pains continued to bother Edward for the next several days, though never anything serious enough to make him worry. James was a ball of anxiety over it, but this time deferred to his partner over whether things were bad enough to go to the clinic. 

Getting up and walking around wasn’t easy, though Edward managed to continue his daily walks and trips to the shower with the assistance of his crew and his partner. Until the weather got too bad for him to go outside, wind whipping up flurries of snow that even the strongest of engines had trouble operating in. 

It was still dark, early Saturday morning even before the fire lighter arrived, when Edward found himself awake in bed. That in of itself was not unusual, a belly full of active baby made it hard to get a good night’s sleep these days. A cramp tightened across his back and middle, gripping tight before easing. So that’s what kind of night it would be. Edward sighed and slowly rolled over, shifting his weight on the bed and rubbing at the sore spot of his back tiredly. 

The wind howled outside the shed, drowning out even the rumbling snores of Gordon, as another winter storm made its way across the island. No doubt work would be delayed in the morning, until the tracks could be cleared of their new layer of snow. 

A few more hours of sleep came fitfully, interrupted by Hawin squirming restlessly or muscles voicing their discomfort. Edward found himself awake again, curling against the cramping of his womb. It felt like no time at all since the last, though the grey cast to the small room indicated that it had been at least a few hours. The sun was rising, the storm had passed, though the shed was unusually quiet. This time of day, the other engines should be awake. Fires lit and steam rising. But outside his room, Edward couldn’t hear the chatter of crews working at their morning oiling or the scrape of shovels on footplates. 

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Edward shifted his legs over the side of the bed and slowly pushed himself to his feet. The weight of Hawin in his belly shifted, low between his hips, making him groan as he shuffled over to the lightswitch of the small room. 

It didn’t turn on. Edward frowned and flicked it a few more times, but nothing happened. He moved over to the window, pulling aside the curtain to look outside. The snow was piled several feet deep, smooth and unmarred by footprints. With the sun not fully risen yet, the big flood lamps should’ve been lighting up the yard at Tidmouth with their yellow light, but all Edward saw was monotone grey. The storm must have knocked the power out. 

A storm hard enough to take down power to Tidmouth had probably dumped enough snow to block the lines for hours. A rare day off for the engines of the railways, save those who would be out clearing the lines. Assuming their crews could get to the sheds to wake them in the first place. Which meant there was little for Edward to do except lay back and relax. 

His crew had left him some food, snacks for when he inevitably got hungry, though for once Edward didn’t really feel like eating. He grabbed an apple anyway, knowing he and the baby needed the energy, and sat back down on the bed. The well-worn pages of a pregnancy book were familiar territory, but provided some distraction. He could’ve turned on his radio, but it felt a crime to make noise when the world was so silent. 

Unfortunately, the book wasn’t quite distraction enough when another cramp made Edward groan and rub his sides. These were the most uncomfortable ones he’d gotten yet. When it finally faded, Edward flipped the book to a section about cramps and skimmed the words idly. When one sentence caught his eye. If he had more than four contractions in an hour, then he should call for his doctor or midwife. How many had he had so far today? It was difficult to tell. 

Glancing at the clock at his bedside, Edward took note of the time before returning to the book. When another cramp came, fifteen minutes had passed. Another fifteen, another contraction. They were regular, the way the little practice ones hadn’t been. 

Edward waited the full hour before deciding that this was really it. He had the phone numbers of his driver, and Alicia, pinned to the wall. His driver had shown him how to use the telephone in the former break room. It took the blue engine a moment to get himself back out of bed and over to the phone. He picked up the handset and slowly turned the dial, but there was no sound from the device. He tried again, still silent. The storm hadn’t just taken down the power, it must have gotten the phone lines too. 

Despite the situation, Edward was oddly calm. He was in labor (hopefully), the power was out, the phones down. Things would be okay. Labor took hours, he knew that much, and the lines couldn’t stay blocked all day. The phones would be fixed, or the roads cleared, and his crew would come in. None of them could go anywhere without a crew anyway. 

James came in a little later, having finally awoken hours after he normally did with no fire lighter or driver to rouse him. He was groggy, sleepy with his fire burning so low, and draped himself across his partner’s body with a happy purr. 

“Good morning, James.” Edward said with amusement. No need to tell James what was happening right now, the red engine would only panic and there was nothing they could do. He closed his eyes at an uncomfortable contraction, but suppressed any other signs of pain. 

“Guess we’ve got the day off. Fat Controller didn’t show up to give us our orders, and none of the crew is hear either.” James said happily, rubbing his partner’s belly with firm hands. “Which means have the whole day to do whatever we want.” One hand drifted lower, finding his partner’s more sensitive areas. 

As much as Edward would’ve liked to reciprocate, James’ touch only made him aware of a deepening ache in his crotch. This was independent of the contractions, a pain that sunk into his pelvic bone and spread across his hips and lower back. 

“Sorry, not quite up for that today.” Edward shifted away with an apology, moving to kiss his partner instead. James accepted the deflection with good grace, nipping at his lips gently. This Edward could respond to, pulling his partner flush against him to enjoy his touch. 

“So, how long until they dig us out?” Edward asked when he finally had to come up for air. “The snow outside looks pretty bad.”

“Henry thinks we’ll be stuck in here all week.” James rolled his eyes, showing just what he thought of the green engine’s worrywart guess. “I think they’ll probably have us out by tomorrow, though. We’ve had worse than this before.”

Indeed they had, though Edward sincerely hoped some humans got to them before tomorrow. Labor took a while, but he didn’t think it would take quite –that- long. 

As if to prove his point, a contraction more intense than the last ones gripped him suddenly. Edward winced in pain, wrapping both arms around his belly as he groaned. 

James was immediately concerned, rubbing his knuckles into the blue engine’s lower back in an attempt to help soothe the pain. “What’s wrong, are you okay? More of those practice contractions?”

Though Edward hadn’t intended to tell his partner quite yet, he wasn’t going to outright lie to James. “I’m okay. I think- I think that these are real contractions this time, though. They’ve been happening for a few hours, and are pretty strong.”

“R-real? Real contractions? You’re in labor?” As predicted, James didn’t handle it well. “As in, the baby is actually coming? Right now? We have to get you to Knapford!”

“The baby isn’t coming –right now-.” Edward reassured, relaxing back down into the pillows of the bed. “My books say this will take hours. Besides, the phone lines are down and the tracks are blocked. We can’t get anywhere anyways.”

James didn’t like that idea at all. He hated sitting around and waiting, dependent on others to help. “I promised Alicia I would get you to the clinic when you went into labor. You were there, you heard her say it might be dangerous for you.”

That was true. Still- “What about the snow, James? The lines are blocked. And Alicia won’t even know to come into the clinic if we can’t call her with the phones down.”

James frowned. All very good points. Someone would have to try and get into Knapford station, to see if the Fat Controller was at his office. And if he wasn’t, find a working phone to call the man. Surely the entire island hadn’t lost power, and Knapford was the largest town. The most likely to still have the phone lines functional. James would do it himself, if he hadn’t been so reluctant to leave his partner’s side. But for any of them to go out, someone would need to fire. Sometimes, rarely, he hated being a locomotive so bound and restricted to the care of others. 

Edward was ready to wait, thought he could power through the worsening contractions, but they were rapidly getting longer and more painful. Faster than he thought they would. An especially strong one left him panting and in tears, and finally the blue engine was forced to admit that James had a point. The baby was coming, they needed to get to the outside world somehow. Would need to find some way through the snow to Knapford. It wouldn’t be easy, but it would hopefully be worth it in the end.


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, this chapter really kicked my ass. 
> 
> Not too much left now, though.

When James yet again ran into the engine shed yelling about the baby coming, sleepy grumbles of irritation were his only response. The other engines weren’t inclined to believe him this time, after the false alarm the week before. 

The appearance of Edward, clutching his middle and clearly in pain, was quick to change their tune however. This wasn’t just a case of James being over-dramatic, Edward really was in labor. Panic immediately ensued. Engines weren’t great at handling stressful situations without their human crews to mediate and Edward, the usually voice of reason, was currently rather preoccupied. 

“He needs to get to Knapford!” James insisted, banging around in his cab and trying to figure out how to get his fire stoked up. Edward had perched himself on the edge of the red engine’s footplate, groaning softly now and then with the contractions and rubbing at his belly. He didn’t want James to worry but it was hard to be reassuring through the discomfort. And his books said it would only get worse.

“None of us have our crews,” Emily pointed out, “We can’t leave the shed.”

“And besides that, the lines are covered in snow from the storm.” Percy piped up.

“Well we have to get out there somehow!” James yelled, growing more hysteric. 

It didn’t matter how much he hurt, Edward reached out to lay a hand on James’ leg and try to calm down the frantic red engine. “James. Slow down. It’s of no help to anyone if you panic.”

“Panic? I’m not panicking.” James insisted, looking down at his partner. “Edward, you’re having a baby!”

“Trust me, I’ve noticed.” Edward let out a breathy laugh, pressing his palm into his side and trying not to show pain at another contraction. “But it’ll be hours yet before the baby is here. You saw how long Timothy took. Let’s just. Try to calm down and think rationally about this.”

James took a few steadying breaths and nodded, sitting down beside his partner. He wrapped an arm around Edward and pulled the blue engine close, feeling all his muscles tighten up for an agonizing moment before loosening. The baby was squirming as well, shifting in their tight, too-small home, only adding to the discomfort Edward felt. 

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” James whispered, worry plain in his voice. 

“I don’t know.” Edward had to admit. “I believe so. People have been having babies for longer than us steam engines have existed. Everything is going how my book says it should, even if it. . . hnnnnn. . . really hurts.” He cringed and curled up slightly. 

“Y-you’ll be fine.” James rubbed his partner’s back, at a loss for anything else to do. Any other way to help. “Do you want to go back to bed?”

“No, actually. I think I want to walk a bit.” Edward was too restless to think about lying down, and his books said that moving around a bit might help with the muscle cramps. James scrambled to help him climb back down from his footplate to the floor of the shed, then let Edward lean on him as they started a slow lap of the shed. 

All eyes were on the two engines as they carefully made their way around the shed. Edward kept having to stop, clutching hard to James to retain his balance as the pain worsened. By the time they completed one lap, James was nearly as exhausted as his partner. He was at his limits for being out of his body. Reluctantly, James was forced back to his engine body to recover while Edward went back to his bed to sit for a little bit. 

While the pair rested, Thomas decided he couldn’t watch his friends so hurt. The little blue tank engine was never one for sitting back and feeling helpless, he had to get out and DO something. Thomas went around and gathered everyone else in the corner of the shed, even Gordon, who, for all his grump, did care about Edward. 

“We have to do something to help Edward.” Thomas declared. 

“What can we do?” Percy was wringing his hands nervously. “We have no crews.”

“We could. We could fire each other!” Thomas said excitedly. “Couple me up behind you, and I can shovel for you.”

“The snow drifts out there are taller than the both of you.” Gordon noted, “You wouldn’t get two meters. You need a big, strong engine.”

“Are you volunteering, Gordon?” Emily looked at the blue engine with some surprise. 

“I- uh,” As arrogant as Gordon was about his superior speed, he knew that when it came to clearing snow-blocked tracks it wasn’t about how fast an engine was. It was about tractive effort.

“I’ll go.” Henry said suddenly. Everyone turned to stare at him. “I’m the strongest engine in the shed. If I can get to Knapford, I can get the Fat Controller. He’ll know what to do.”

“I’ll come with.” If the green engine went out into the snow, Gordon knew he’d worry the rest of the day. Henry would not be going alone. “You’ll need someone to get you back here fast.”

“Let’s get your fire stoked!” Thomas and Percy immediately scrambled up into Henry’s cab, shoveling coal into his firebox and trying to encourage the smouldering coals already there to ignite. Gordon, who wasn’t about to let a pair of excitable young engines up into his cab, did the same to his own fire. 

While they busied themselves with that, Emily decided to go check on Edward. In the back room, the blue engine was laying on his side in bed with both hands on his belly, breathing deeply and slowly as he rubbed his sore muscles. 

“Are you doing okay, Edward?” Emily asked softly, sitting down on the edge of the bed. She didn’t want to bother him, but she also didn’t think he should be left alone at a time like this. 

“Oh, hello Emily.” Edward managed a thin smile and shifted to sit up a little better against the pillows. “I’m okay. Just. . . wishing that little Hawin hadn’t picked today to come. Last week would’ve been fine.” His laugh turned into a wince as another cramp came over him.

“Henry and Gordon are going to try and get to Knapford to get the Fat Controller.” Emily commented, reaching forward cautiously. Unsure if her touch would be welcome, but wanting to try and help somehow. 

“I hope they don’t get stuck out there. And you can touch, it’s fine.” Edward pulled up his shirt and took her hand, gently laying it atop his belly. There was a sudden, harsh movement under her hand, making Emily gasp. “The baby is head down, now. So their feet are up here, to kick me right in the ribs. And their head is down here.” Edward moved Emily’s hand lower, until she could feel the roundness of Hawin’s head.

“Wow. Edward. I can’t believe there’s actually a little person in there.” Emily was in awe. Yeah, she’d known what being pregnant meant. But it hadn’t been real until she’d actually been able to sit here and feel it. 

“Yep. My little Hawin.” Edward said fondly. “Although, they won’t be in there for much longer.”

“Are you scared?”

Edward thought about it for a moment, wincing and trying to breathe through another contraction. They were gradually getting stronger and closer together. “Y-yeah. Of course I’m scared. This hurts, so much. I’m worried that Henry and Gordon will get trapped in the snow trying to help me; I’m worried that the doctor won’t get here in time. But I can’t let myself panic. Nothing good happens when you panic.”

Emily nodded; impressed by the cool, level head that Edward always managed to keep. But he still couldn’t hold in a groan of pain as he curled into the next cramp, heels digging into the blankets of the bed. 

For the next hour or so, Emily stayed there holding Edward’s hand and talking to him about anything that came to mind. The blue engine greatly appreciated the distraction, even if he sometimes couldn’t keep up with the thread conversation. After a while, though, Emily began to feel the pull of her real body. “I’m sorry, Edward, but I have to go.”

“Help me up?” Edward was starting to get sore and tired of laying there and wanted to move again. “I need to walk some more.”

Emily took his arm and helped the blue engine up off the bed. As Edward levered himself upright, he let out a surprised gasp and reached down towards the crotch of his pants. He’d felt a cramp, stronger than the others, and now there was a slick fluid running down the inside of his thighs. 

“Edward?” Emily looked to him in concern, eyes widening as she saw the damp spot on his trousers. 

“I- I think my water just broke.” Edward said weakly, taking in a shuddering breath and exhaling slowly. 

“Is. Is that a bad thing?” It was never good when something ‘broke.’ 

“Well. It just means that the baby is coming.” So. Ultimately it was a good thing, even if Edward wasn’t entirely certain he wanted a sign that labor was speeding up right then. “All the fluid that’s been cushioning the baby all this time, it had to come out.” Onto his trousers, of course. Edward vanished the soiled garment, but didn’t have the energy to create new ones. “Could you hand me my shawl?”

“Oh, of course.” Emily quickly picked up his knitted wrap up off the bed and draped it over the blue engine’s shoulders. Then, slowly, the two made their way out to the main part of the shed. 

 

Finally, Henry and Gordon had gotten up steam, despite the “help” from Thomas and Percy. The doors to their tracks were pushed open, and the two stared out into the snow. It looked deep, not quite as high as their drivers but definitely up to their axles. Henry bit his lip, still not entirely sure about this, but the memory of Edward’s face cringing in pain spurred him on. No matter how much the others teased Henry for being scared of everything, there was nothing he wouldn’t do to help his friends. 

The next challenge was getting out of the shed, onto the turntable, and moving Gordon out so that the two engines could be coupled tender-to-tender. Then. It was time to make for Knapford. 

Gordon did his best to shovel the way his fireman had showed him, months before. Henry was notoriously difficult to fire, even after his rebuild, but the large blue engine was determined to get this right. Edward was counting on them. 

Though the snow was deep, it fortunately hadn’t yet been compacted and hardened. Once Henry managed to get up some momentum, he was able to push aside the thick powder with relative ease. Not at any kind of speed, though, they kept encountering deeper drifts that required all of Henry’s power to push through. At this rate, it would take over an hour to get to Knapford. 

“Can’t we go any faster?” Their slow progress was beginning to grate on Gordon. He was rarely out on uncleared tracks, and had never had to force his way through un-touched snow the way that they were doing now. 

“Only if we want to get stuck,” Henry gritted his teeth as snow splattered against his face, ploughing through another drift determinedly. “The snow is soft, but very deep. I can’t plough through it any quicker.”

It was like there was a huge clock over their head, ticking away the seconds as the two engines made slow progress along the rails. There was no one else outside, nothing to disturb the pristine snowy landscape except them. At another time, it would’ve been peaceful. Something to savor. Now, though, the only thing on their minds was the pained face of Edward back at Tidmouth sheds. 

Henry couldn’t help but be worried. It’s what he did. What if they took too long? What if someone happened to the baby, or to Edward, because they hadn’t been able to bring back the doctor in time? He didn’t know what the shed would do without Edward, without the old engine’s kind nature and wise words. 

They had gotten a little over halfway to Knapford, progress slow and steady, when a sound in the distance disturbed the landscape. The sound of another steam engine. 

“Who else could be out in this?” Henry wondered, squinting at the sight of twin plumes of steam billowing in the cold air ahead. 

“Somebody crazier than us.” Gordon muttered. “But, it means the tracks must be clear ahead.”

That was true. For another engine to be ahead of them, the tracks had to be ploughed at least as far as Knapford, the next station on the line. 

The answer of who it was suddenly became obvious when a pair of whistles greeted their approach. Donald and Douglas, doing their usual job of ploughing the mainline after a snowfall. The twin engines were perfectly happy out in the heavy snow, and were quite surprised indeed to see others outside on the mainline. 

“Henry?” Donald exclaimed in surprise as the engines all came to a stop. “What are you doin’ out in this? Don’ tell me yer takin’ up ploughing?”

“It’s Edward!” Henry didn’t have time for casual conversation. “We have to get to Knapford right away! Is the Fat Controller there?”

“Aye, he sent us out to clear the line to Tidmouth since he can’t reach anybody there.” Donald tooted his whistle as he reversed direction. “Come on, Douggie, we gotta get back to Knapford!”

With Donald and Douglas leading the way, they were now making much faster progress. The tracks were wet, but clear, and soon the group was pulling into Knapford station. Gordon vanished back to his body, exhausted, while Henry ran to the Fat Controller’s office and pounded on the door. 

“Hold on!” Came the irritable response from inside, before the owner of the railway opened the door. “Henry? What are you doing here?”

“Please sir, it’s Edward. He’s having the baby!” 

Sir Topham’s eyes went wide and he quickly ducked back into his office to grab a winter coat. Then he realized a problem. The tracks were obviously cleared to Tidmouth, but the town still didn’t have power and wasn’t reachable by phone. Which would make it very hard to get in contact with Alicia. And while the railway owner was many things, a doctor wasn’t one of them. He didn’t know anything about delivering babies. 

Leaning over his desk, Sir Topham wracked his brain for ideas. How to get to Alicia if she couldn’t be reached by phone, rail, or road. He should’ve known that Edward would pick the worst possible time to go into labor. 

Suddenly, an idea came to him. No one could reach Alicia by land, but she could be reached by air. Picking up the phone, Sir Topham placed a call to the Sodor Search and Rescue center and asked for Harold to be sent to Tidmouth right away. After rattling off the address of the Sand’s house, Sir Topham wrapped his coat around him and hurried back out onto the platform. 

“Alright, we need to get to Tidmouth right away!” Sir Topham marched purposefully towards Henry and Gordon, where they and the snow removal crew were working on stoking up Gordon’s fire so that he could lead the way back to Tidmouth Sheds. 

The Fat Controller himself climbed up into Gordon’s cab to fire the big, blue engine as they raced back to Tidmouth. He only hoped they weren’t too late.


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, my file of this on my external harddrive somehow got corrupted, preventing me from working on it while I was out of town.

Alicia Sand was sitting in her parent’s living room, hands wrapped around a warm mug of hot chocolate as her father tended to a roaring fire in their fireplace. Waking that morning to find the power out had been an unpleasant surprise, but at least her parents had a good supply of cordwood to last the winter through. There would be no way to leave the house until the city snowploughs came through, unless someone felt like trudging through the knee-deep snow, so it looked like it would be a lazy day in front of the fire. 

At least, that’s what the Sand family thought was in order. The loud whop-whop- whop of a helicopter attracted Charlie’s attention, audible even through the walls of the house, and he frowned at the ceiling contemplatively. “Must be the heli from the Search and Rescue Center. Someone’s probably stuck in the snow.”

The noise continued to get louder, though, until it seemed like the helicopter was about to land right on their roof. A flurry of snow suddenly hit the windows of the house, followed by a loud knocking on the door. 

“What on earth-?” Charlie opened the door and looked out to see Harold the helicopter in the middle of the street. 

“Mr. Sand? The Fat Controller sent me to get you and your daughter.” Harold, standing on the doorstep in human form, had to yell over the sound of his own rotors. “You’re needed at Tidmouth Sheds, it’s Edward!”

“Oh no, the baby!” Alicia immediately leapt off the couch and ran to her room to get her medical bag. Of course, -of course-, Edward would go into labor when all the roads were blocked and the power was out. There was no was they’d be able to get him to the clinic in Knapford now, she’d just have to perform the delivery at Tidmouth sheds. Hopefully, nothing went wrong. 

With her medical bag and a few other essentials (like towels and extra blankets) in hand, Alicia and her father ran across the snowy street and clambered up into Harold’s small cab.

 

The flight to Tidmouth Sheds was quick and extremely uncomfortable. As Harold landed next to the shed, kicking up flurries of snow, they saw Henry and Gordon pulling up to the turntable. The Fat Controller jumped down from Gordon’s cab and ran to the shed, leaving the two engines to struggle with the stubborn turntable, and was quickly joined inside the warm shed by Alicia and Charlie. 

Edward looked up with surprise when the door to the outside opened and several people tumbled in. The blue engine was on his feet, though barely, and leaning against the wall of the shed as he breathed through a contraction. 

Though Charlie and the Fat Controller looked visibly concerned, Alicia breathed a sigh of relief. The fact that Edward was standing up, and not bleeding or screaming in agony, meant that they weren’t too late. He looked to be in pain and very uncomfortable, but that was to be expected for someone in labor. 

“Hey, Edward.” Alicia said gently, walking forward to take the engine’s arm. “You picked a hell of a day to go into labor. How are you doing?”

“Don’t blame me.” Edward responded with a huffed laugh, patting his belly awkwardly. “I. It hurts, but I feel like I need to move.”

“Well, let’s sit you down on the bed for just a moment so I can have a look at you.” Alicia began to lead him towards the back room. “Then, if you feel like continuing your walk you can. How far apart are the contractions?”

“Uh. F-five? Minutes. Or ten. I’m a bit. Distracted.” Edward had tried to time them, but it was difficult to concentrate through the intense pain. 

“It’s alright.” Alicia patted his hand and settled him down on the bed, gesturing for him to lay back so she could look him over. Edward didn’t have the energy to be embarrassed as she pushed up his poncho and knelt between his legs with a flashlight. In the dimly lit shed, it was the best she had. 

As his daughter made sure Edward was alright, Charlie went over to the wood stove in the corner and started building a fire. It wasn’t terribly cold in the shed, but it gave him something to do with his hands to feel useful. Once a fire was blazing, he took the teapot that always sat atop the stove and went outside to fill it with snow to melt so that they could have some fresh water. 

“Well, you appear to be well dialated, water has obviously broken. Your contractions are progressing well, baby doesn’t seem to be in distress.” Alicia smiled and patted Edward’s knees. “This baby should be here by the end of the day.”

“I can’t wait.” Months of waiting, of reduced duty and discomfort and strain, would soon pay off. Edward gently stroked his belly, feeling Hawin shift uncomfortably inside him. The baby didn’t seem to be enjoying the labor process any more than he was, if the feet kicking his ribs were any indication. 

“Edward!” James suddenly burst into the room, having finally recovered the energy to be with his partner again. He immediately latched onto the blue engine, making sure all of Edward was still there, before belatedly noticing the new arrivals in the room. “Doctor! Finally, you’re here! Took you long enough.”

“James!” Edward chastised, giving Alicia an apologetic look. 

She was far too used to James’ abrasive behavior to do anything but roll her eyes, though. “If you haven’t noticed, the snow is knee-deep out there. We arrived as fast as we can. Given that Edward is still in labor and the baby isn’t here yet, I’d say we’re right on time.”

James couldn’t argue with that, so he settled for pouting as he helped Edward stand up. The blue engine’s knees shook, though he steadied after a moment. His back ached abominably, but the feeling of pressure in his pelvis was worse. He needed the distraction of walking, needed to keep moving. Edward groaned as he received a sharp kick to the ribs. 

“I know, Hawin. I know, baby.” Edward murmured, leaning heavily against James. 

The pair managed to make one more circuit of the room before a pain sharper than any that had come before forced Edward to his knees with a shout. 

“Edward!” 

It took James and Charlie to haul him to his feet, returning him to the bed. Alicia had covered the mattress in blankets, so hopefully the bed would survive this ordeal. Hopefully, they all would. 

“It’s okay, Edward.” Alicia reassured, situating herself between the engine’s knees and gently pushing up his shawl. “It’s going to be okay.”

Edward just groaned, squeezing his eyes tightly shut and curling up a bit as best he could. James, meanwhile, was trying not to freak out and not really succeeding. 

“What’s happening? Why is he in so much pain?” James demanding, clutching his partner’s hand. (mostly for his own comfort), “Why aren’t you helping him?”

“I am helping him.” Alicia tried not to let her irritation bleed into her voice. She wasn’t doing a very good job at it. “Having a baby is a long, and painful process. Why don’t you focus on making Edward feel better, instead of coming after me?”

James gasped in offence, while Charlie tried to hide a grin. After a momentary stare-down, though, James relented and shifted to look at Edward instead. 

“Are you really alright?” James whispered softly. 

“Yes.” Edward promised. He squeezed his partner’s hand tightly, which really didn’t make James feel any better. 

Unfortunately for James’ nerves, the increase in pain didn’t seem to mean the process was speeding up any. The red engine held his partner’s hand until he couldn’t maintain his form any longer, then Charlie took his place. The engine driver was well versed in sitting beside a laboring person, (and was quite thankful that Edward was less scary than his wife had been while giving birth to their children.) There wasn’t any screaming or threatening of castration, Edward just held onto his driver’s hand and tried to keep up with the man’s nonsense conversation between groans and pants of exertion. 

“I knew labor took a long time.” Edward said tiredly as the sun set outside, leaving the fire in the wood stove the only light for the room. “But I think. . . I’m ready to be done now.”

“I’m sorry, Edward.” Alicia said sympathetically, “But you’re almost there.” She pulled up his shawl and used a flashlight to help check how he was doing. “You’re almost ready to push.”

Charlie decided that the room was starting to get a bit cold and moved to throw some more wood on the fire. Once he got it roaring again, and was satisfied with the heat it was putting out, Charlie poured himself some tea from the kettle sitting atop the stove and turned away to return to his engine. As he passed the door separating the room from the rest of the shed, the engine driver heard voices from the other side. Curiously, he poked his head through only to find the Fat Controller and several of the younger engines crowded around the door. 

“Charlie!” Sir Topham exclaimed, trying to look as though he hadn’t been eavesdropping. “How is he doing?”

“A little grumpy, but otherwise fine.” Charlie reassured. 

“Hasn’t the baby come yet?” Thomas asked, a mix of scared and impatient. “He’s been in there all day!”

“No, Thomas.” Charlie chuckled a little. “The baby isn’t quite here yet. Very soon though. How is James?”

“Pissed off!” Came the red engine’s voice from the other side of the shed. He closed his eyes and tried to move to his human form, but he just didn’t have the energy yet. James gave a loud growl. “I should be in there!”

“Well, if you calm down, you’ll be able to get back in faster.” Gordon grumbled in his deep voice. He and Henry had returned to the shed and were now cooling down in their stalls. Steam hissed from the two engines, adding to the damp warmth of the shed. 

“Shut up!” James yelled in response, “Just shut up. Edward is in there right now, in pain. He could- could- I might never-“

“Edward is not going to die.” Charlie insisted, addressing everyone in the shed. “Edward, and Hawin, will be just fine. I trust in my daughter.”

Almost to undermine his words, there was a sudden cry of pain from the back room that echoed around the shed. 

“Edward!” A red blur shot past Charlie, who gave a weak smile to everyone else before dashing into the back room as well. 

The blue engine was on the bed, hands fisted in the sheets and face red with exertion. Alicia was kneeling between his legs, encouraging him with commands to “push,” and it was clear that Edward was finally in the home stretch. 

James was immediately at his partner’s side, throwing arms around Edward’s upper body in an awkward hug. Edward was a little too distracted to do much except give a brief smile between pants as his body worked hard to push out the new human it had spent 9 months making. 

Charlie stood awkwardly off to one side, watching but not wanting to intrude, when his daughter looked up at him. “Dad. Can you get something sharp? A knife, or scissors, to cut the umbilical cord. And can you start mixing some formula?”

“Right, right!” Glad for something to occupy himself, Charlie rushed off to do just that. A pair of scissors was surprisingly difficult to find (dear lord, they needed to organize the tool bench in the shed), but a reasonably clean pair was located and plunked into boiling water to sterilize. 

Formula, fortunately, was easier. The hospital bag they had put together for Edward weeks before, with nappies and blankets, also had some powdered formula in it. Charlie dutifully mixed it up, unable to help remembering when he had last done this for his own children more than twenty years before. 

As he carefully poured the warm formula into a bottle, there was a loud scream that made Charlie flinch and slop hot milk down his front. Most of it, thankfully, made it into the bottle, so Charlie just swore quietly as he tried to mop up the mess with a rag. Another pained cry from Edward, and then it was suddenly mirrored by a second, smaller and shriller. 

Alicia smiled as she held up a red, slimy, tiny baby. For all the worry and effort, the birth had gone well and Hawin appeared to be a perfectly healthy, if a little hefty, child. 

“Congratulations, Edward!” Alicia looked up in time to see the blue engine collapse to the bed and vanish. “Edward?”


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the distance between updates, summer is the busiest season at my work and I haven't had time to do much of anything, much less write.

It was of great surprise to everyone when Edward suddenly vanished only seconds after giving birth to his child. James hesitated a moment, caught between dashing out to try and be with his partner or remaining there to see his newborn child. Finally, concern for Edward won out and James ran from the back room. 

Charlie looked over at his daughter, who was cleaning off Hawin in absence of either of the child’s parents. “So, is it a boy or a girl?” He asked, curious to know after so many months of mystery. 

“Uh,” Alicia took a look, brows furrowing as she toweled off the baby, “I actually don’t know. . .”

Out in the shed, James anxiously ran around to the front of the blue number 2 locomotive, but did not see a familiar smiling face on the smokestack. He then jumped into the cab, calling out Edward’s name frantically. 

Finally, a faint voice reached his ears. “James?”

“Edward!” James pressed his hands against the other engine’s backhead, “Are you okay?”

“. . .yes. Just. . . tired.” The voice slipped away again, as Edward returned to unconsciousness to try and regain his strength. 

James ran a gentle hand across his partner’s gauges and dials, before jumping back down with a sigh. As much as he wanted to stay with Edward, he had other responsibilities to attend to. 

As James stepped back into the small room at the rear of the shed, he had barely a moment to prepare before a bundle was thrust into his arms. Nestled in the blue and red baby blanket that had been presented to Edward weeks before was the ruddy, wrinkly little face of Hawin, looking around curiously with brilliant blue eyes. 

“Here,” Alicia guided James to the bed, which had been cleared of soiled blankets, and gently pushed him to sit down. She then put a bottle of formula in his hand, showing him wordlessly how to support Hawin and get the newborn to nurse. 

Finally, Hawin was well fed and settled down to sleep. James rocked the baby back and forth slowly, looking down at his child fondly. Hawin was absolutely the most beautiful baby James had ever seen. Though, of course, James was maybe a little biased. (with a fairly small sample size)

 

James stayed with his baby as long as he was able, until he finally, reluctantly, went back to his true body. As the day wore on, ploughs got out on the roads and tracks until travel could somewhat resume. Sir Topham got word of the birth of Hawin to his daughter and son-in-law off as soon as he had a train that could make it, and the two immediately made their way to Tidmouth Sheds. 

Lady Jane Hatt entered the roundhouse with her husband Charles, armfuls of baby supplies in hand so that they could be ready to take Hawin home. A locomotive shed, after all, wasn’t exactly the ideal environment for a newborn. 

First, though, it was only polite to greet the little one’s parents and the other engines of the shed. Charles was always a little awkward around the living engines, but Lady Hatt had been raised on the railway and wasn’t put off by them a bit. She said hello to Percy, Thomas and Emily, and thanked Henry and Gordon for their work that morning, and finally went to see James and Edward. 

Or, apparently, just James. The red engine was there in his usual body, looking very unhappy and rather concerned. The reason was obvious when Lady Hat and her husband noticed that Edward was in no condition to talk. 

“He’s resting,” James said by way of explanation, looking like he very much wanted to do the same. “This whole birth business took far too long and caused him a lot of pain.”

“I’m sorry. That must have been hard to watch.” Lady Hatt sympathized, having gone through the whole birth process twice herself. “How is the baby?”

Suddenly, an expression of dopey love came over James’ face. “Hawin is okay. I- I got to hold Hawin, and got showed how to use a bottle.”

“That’s wonderful.” Lady Hatt patted James on the buffer. “Well, I’ve come to take the baby home with me. The roads are finally clear enough to get through safely. Have a good rest.”

As she took her husband into the back room with her, Lady Hatt felt a little guilty for coming to take Hawin away. Looking back at the pair of engines sitting quietly in the shed, though, she had a sudden realization that neither of Hawin’s birth parents currently had arms with which to hold their baby. This was something that had to be done. 

In the back room, Charlie was seated on an old stool with a blue bundle in his arms while Alicia bustled around cleaning up. The old engine driver rocked back and forth slowly, humming under his breath as he looked intently at the babe in his arms. 

When Lady Hatt entered, Charlie made an aborted motion to stand in respect, remembered he was holding a baby, and settled for nodding his head instead. “Lady Hatt.”

“Hello, Charlie.” Lady Hat smiled warmly. “And this must be Hawin.”

“Yep. Sound asleep.” Charlie peeled back the blankets just enough to reveal the newborn’s face. 

Lady Hatt barely contained a sound of glee. Goodness, she loved babies. And Hawin had turned out absolutely adorable. Gently, she took the baby from Charlie and turned to show off the newborn to her husband. The man made appropriate noises of wonder in response. 

“So, do we have a boy or a girl?” Lady Hatt addressed Alicia, who had finished stuffing soiled bedsheets into a bag to be washed later and was re-making the bed with fresh linens. 

“Well-“ Alicia straightened and rubbed the back of her neck. “That’s. Complicated. Here, why don’t you sit down.”

“Complicated how?” Lady Hatt asked sternly in a way that reminded everyone she was, in fact, the daughter of Sir Topham. Alicia gulped and reminded herself she was the medical student, and therefor was the expert in this situation.

“Hawin has what we would call, uh, ‘non-standard genitals.’ Seems to take after Edward that way.” Alicia had been surprised, but then such things were often genetic. Which meant that steam engines somehow had genes? Probably best not to think about it. “Basically, it means that I can’t tell male or female by looking. In a hospital, they’d probably perform surgery, but everything seems functional so I really don’t think it’s necessary to do something that drastic.”

“Okay then.” Lady Hatt relaxed slightly at the explanation, but there was still concern in her eyes. “So what should we do?”

“Well, if working with the engines these last few months has taught me anything, it’s that gender is more than just the bits we have.” Alicia dug up a smile. “I think when Hawin is old enough, they’ll be able to have a say in things. Until then, how about I declare this a baby boy, and we can change the birth certificate later if we have to?”

Lady Hatt nodded. It sounded good enough to her. She directed her husband to gather Hawin’s things and, with one more farewell to James, headed home to Hatt Hall with their new son. 

 

Slowly, reluctantly, James went back to work once the snow stopped and the tracks fully cleared. He pulled passenger trains without any of his usual enthusiasm, always rushing back to Tidmouth Sheds at the end of the day to check on Edward. 

There was little change to the blue engine’s condition as the days passed. Edward could barely summon enough energy to speak, much less do anything else. Most of the time he rested, as inert and silent as lifeless steel. 

Everyone tried hard not to be worried, even when Edward’s recovery lagged behind Timothy’s. The little blue oil-burner had returned to his work after a month, albeit with a little less energy than usual, but otherwise none the worse for wear. He did say, however, that it took a while to get over the frame- deep exhaustion that had plagued him for the first few weeks. 

 

Fortunately for James’ sanity (and the efficiency of the railway) Edward did manage to make a full recovery in time for the summer tourist season. He was very apologetic about the concern he had caused, even as his words were punctuated by tired yawns, but nobody held it against him. Everyone was just happy to have him back, and they didn’t get mad if sometimes he fell asleep at signals after a long day or needed to go back to the shed early.

For Edward, the highlight of his day was on Sundays, when he had a bit of extra time at the halt nearest Hatt Hall, because then Lady Hatt would come out with Hawin to let the two see each other for a little while. Charlie and Sydney stayed in the cab and hid their smiles as Edward awkwardly tried to interact with his son. Things were back to normal, or at least as normal as things ever got on the Island of Sodor. 

 

On the mainland, in a small apartment, student Archie Binns looked over the pages and pages of notes he had spread across the table. It would take a while to edit all the material he had into any kind of cohesive paper. He hoped that, once he was done, he might be able to do something to prove to the greater world that living machines had real, genuine emotions and feelings. It was the least he could do after everything he’d seen. And maybe, one day, he’d get to go back to Sodor and work with the engines again. Certainly, he would make a point to visit as soon as he could. 

Lowering his fingers to the typewriter, Archie began to craft his paper. Even if it was just his classmates, someone would listen to him. 

 

Alicia Sands was more than happy to be living on Sodor again, in a comfortable flat in Knapford. It was an easy train ride away from her parents, and she had gotten a wonderful training position at the hospital in Knapford. Courtesy of a few words from the Fat Controller. Life was going pretty well. 

 

 

A few years passed, and everything returned to its comfortable rhythm. In the winters, Christmas celebrations were combined with a birthday party for Hawin and Song, who the employees of the railway all came to dote on. The engines did too, in their way, though they preferred making funny faces from a fair distance to actually holding the babies. 

When everyone gathered for the third annual birthday party, they were a bit surprised to see Hawin arrive in a pink princess dress. The child happily declared that -she- was a pretty princess, and a girl, and Lady Hatt explained that they were having Hawin’s birth certificate altered to match the next day. 

“Edwar-!” Hawin ran over happily when she saw Edward, who quickly used his human form to scoop her up into his arms. James wasn’t far behind, wrapped an arm around his partner and their daughter. Someone took a photo, and it was pinned up on the corkboard in the back of Tidmouth Sheds with all the others. More memories, to be preserved forevermore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for coming on this journey with me! At over 100k words, Whistle Stop is officially the longest thing I've ever written. (And is also longer than the Hobbit or most of the Harry Potter books. Wheew!)
> 
> There may or may not be another installment after this, we'll have to see where things go!


End file.
